FAWEMA develops booklets on life skills for learners

By Sarah Munthali

In a bid to address lack of knowledge and skills on how learners can abstain from sex, prevent teen pregnancies and child marriages, Forum for African Women Educationalists in Malawi (FAWEMA) has developed puberty booklets to be used by learners in schools to equip them with relevant life skills.

Speaking in Salima on Wednesday during the opening of a three-day Value Clarification and Attitude Transformation (VCAT) on life skills training for stake holders, FAWEMA Board Chairperson Dr Maggie Madimbo said the barriers to achievement of equality and equity in education are the issues of teen pregnancies and child marriages which push girls out of school.

“This is why FAWEMA through the Innovations in Health Rights and Development (iHEARD) project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, developed puberty booklets to be used by learners in school clubs in primary and secondary schools to equip them with relevant life skills.

“The project will dismantle barriers to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SHRH) for adolescent girls and young women (AGWY) in Malawi who are particularly vulnerable in terms of SRH,” she said.

According to FAWEMA Executive Director Wesley Chabwera, there are still gaps in terms of accurate information pertaining to sexual and reproductive health among the adolescents which hinders their rights on their sexual and reproductive health.

He said some teen pregnancies and child marriages are due to lack of information on SHRH, adding stakeholders should ensure that they dismantle barriers to sexual and reproductive health rights for adolescent girls and young women.

“The young girls and boys sometimes lack knowledge and skills on how they can abstain and prevent teen pregnancies and child marriages.

“We have engaged various stakeholders who are policy holders when it comes to engaging with the youth to discuss on how their values impact the service delivery of sexual reproductive health, education and service on learners,” he said.

Chabwera said FAWEMA has therefore organised the training on VCAT on life skills to ensure that all stakeholders understand the content that is being delivered in the school clubs and enable them continue their support and guidance in delivering life skills education effectively in all the project schools.

A participant to the training, Senior Chief Masumbankhunda of Lilongwe, hailed FAWEMA for the the booklets and the IHEARD project, which has helped girls in his area return to school.

Education Division Manager for Central East Education Division Billy Chikhwana Banda said the booklets which the girls are going to use at the clubs in their schools are approved by the ministry, hence the girls will be getting the right messages on SRH and make right decisions about their lives.

“We are at a point where girls are dropping out of school in primary and secondary due to pregnancies and early marriages; the project by FAWEMA is therefore complementing government policies of ensuring that girls are kept in school,” he said.

The training was attended by traditional leaders and officials from gender, youth, and education ministries, among other people.

iHEARD is a five-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), targeting 3,000,000 adolescent girls and young women aged between 10-24 in primary and secondary schools to dismantle barriers that affect girls in the realisation of their sexual and reproductive health rights in Ntchisi, Dowa and Lilongwe districts.