Shot in the arm for adolescent girls

BW Jobs 4 Graduates has launched a project that promotes local community-based institutions through the formation of five Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) Clubs in Maruapula, Mmopane, Molepolole, Kopong, and Gaborone Block 3.

Chairperson of BW Jobs for Graduates, Christopher Seagateng told The Midweek Sun that the project is an effort to support and enhance the voices of an unemployed girl child. It will have mentors and provide timely information on Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights Services, as well as economic empowerment. According to Seagateng, there are a lot of adolescent girls and young women who live the fast-paced life of the city and surrounding areas.

Due to high unemployment, there is inadequate information on health-related issues, as well as skills enhancement for employability, and as such the project provides them learning through bad street language. Far worse, Covid- 19 has had a devastating effect on teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, and youth unemployment. The project aims to have capacitybuilding of 128 AGYW through training sessions on accessing SRHR services and taking up spaces in decision-making platforms. It will also share challenges and stories of SRHR accessibility and economic empowerment that AGYW faces through a hashtag #ThroughTheLens Of An Unemployed AGYW. According to Seagateng, participants will also be trained in Job Readiness, Entrepreneurship, Volunteerism, and Financial Literacy. “Through our interactions, some AGYWs highlighted lack of SRHR service and commodities as a great challenge for them as they have to commute for long distances to access such. “Sexual harassment while job searching coupled with undue sexual favours from some employers. Unavailability of youth-friendly services which present stigma from members of the community, family and health professionals. “Social vices brought by youth unemployment such as prostitution, generational sex, the multi concurrent partnership”, said Seagateng. BW Jobs 4 Graduates was formed in February 2012 to address the escalating unemployment among the youth. It is mostly utilised by youth from all over the country aged between 18 and 35 years, 52 percent of the youth being women and 48 percent men respectively.