Girls Stand #UpForSchool campaign launched

Mar 15, 2015 News

In an effort to raise global awareness on the reintegration of female school dropouts, the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) launched the Girls Stand #UpForSchool campaign, last Friday.

Postcards being crafting for #UpForSchool campaign on Friday.

The campaign was launched along the Main Street Avenue in collaboration with other local and international agencies including the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), the Come Alive Network Incorporated (CANI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other stakeholders.
The event is an offshoot of a special initiative on education by the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to meet the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) on gender equality and female empowerment.
For this year’s international Women’s Day observance, the UN launched the #UpForSchool campaign as a way to increase the integration of school dropouts, especially amongst marginalised young women.
During the event it was noted that many girls drop out of school as a result of teenage pregnancy.
As such, the GRPA began the 100 Post Cards for Girls movement.
The 100 Post Cards project aims to produce 200 personally crafted postcards to raise awareness and encourage both school dropouts and political leaders to stay true to their commitment of “education for young girls”.
According to the local coordinator Renuka Anandjit, the initiative is “calling for the partnership of boys and girls; leader and our communities” to achieve equal education opportunities for female school dropouts. Furthermore the “express yourself” activity represents a creative and dynamic forum for self-expression and advocacy.
At last Friday’s event, volunteers and organisers stood in front of individual stalls along the Main Street Avenue as they educated passersby on sexual and reproductive health, social responsibility and the importance of non-discriminatory education. Additionally, participants were able to craft personal postcards addressed to girls and leaders, to further encourage girls’ to return to school.
During the event many student girls took time to participate in creating artistic messages to get their peer back to school.
One such student was Melissa Adolphus of the Bishop’s High School, who decided to volunteer at the event since it supports young girls like herself. “It gives young girls a chance to be more sensitised and aware of the struggles we face,” said Adolphus “this initiative also lets them know that they are not alone.”
Adolphus, along with other young volunteers, also encourage pedestrians to sign the #UpForSchool petition to further garner massive public support for the education of young girls, officially making leaders aware of the platform.
On the day of the event, many postcard crafters used a plethora of creative tools and paints to design their postcards. According to another young volunteer, Ashaf Dabie, the bigger postcards were addressed to leaders’ so as to draw more attention on the initiative from their part.
Member of the youth arm of GRPA, Travis Bruce, related that postcards were also meant to inspire girls to be brave and proud, despite the stigma they face as a school dropout or teen mother. In addressing how the agency is helping girls return to school, Bruce explained that the #UpForSchool has been conducting fundraisers to achieve their goals.
“Not only are they getting encouragement, but we are giving subsidies on school supplies and textbooks to get back to school,” said Bruce.
Meanwhile, joining in the card crafting activities was University of Guyana Student Society (UGSS) President, Joshua Griffith. He posited that “education is important for all. When you educate a woman you educate a nation and generations to come.”
He said that any cause which respects the non-discriminatory integration of education, whether it be primary, secondary or tertiary has the support of the country’s high academic institute’s student body.
Moreover, non-discriminatory practices within the education system were a vital reason for SASOD’s involvement in the observance, said Social Change Coordinator, Chelauna Providence.
“We see affording young women, especially young women who are young mothers, an opportunity to access education as a major step in reducing discrimination because it removes the stereotypical (expectations) of women,” said Providence.
As the day progressed, Guyanese citizens of all backgrounds showed interest in the campaign and also participated in craft the advocacy postcards. Persons were encouraged to take the campaign to social media sites with by searching #UpForGirls.
Guyana has the second highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the Caribbean and South America, affecting 97 out of every 1000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19. Teenage pregnancy is therefore one of the primary reasons girls dropout of school.