January 18, 2016 By Ibrahim Jaffa Condeh
BRAC Sierra Leone, Salone Adolescent Girls Network (SAN) and Matei Initiative Empowerment Programme for Sustainable Development (MATCOPS) have conducted a joint three-day training of adolescent girls in Kumala, Neini Chiefdom in the Koinadugu District.
The workshop targeted 13 SAN members in Sierra Leone.
MATCOPS has been implementing the girl centered programme for adolescent girls between the ages of 10 and 19 years that were affected by the Ebola viral diseases with the aim to form two girl centre clubs, consisting 20 girls per club.
SAN Coordinator James Bangura told Concord Times that the project had attracted a good number of adolescent girls, adding that the criteria for selection was based on standards set by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs to enroll 40 girls into the BRAC Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescent (ELA) programme.
He said the 40 girls were identified following the establishment of two clubs of 20 per group.
MATCOPS Documentation and Monitoring Officer, Teddy Baomie Beah, said his organisation had erected two Adolescent Girl Safe Centres in Kumala town with the aim of providing Basic Literacy and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR’s) programme, adding that they have synergised their Lifelong Learning (LL) programme into BRAC’s Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescent (ELA) as a stepping stone to addressing challenges faced by adolescent girls in Kumala town.
He said the training on ELA was to capacitate mentors, girl leaders, and teachers for effective implementation of the project in Kumala.