SPONSOR ZI (VIRTUAL SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH EDUCATION)

Training for teen girls on Sexual Reproductive Health in Kibera slum

Inspiration

‘A Sponsor’ is a popular word used by teen girls in Kenya to refer to the practice of dating one or more elderly men mostly for money in exchange for sex. Girls from poor families who cannot afford key provisions such sanitary towels are especially more vulnerable as they offer sex in exchange for money Reports show that most teen girls in Nairobi fall into pregnancies as a result of dating older men, especially motorbike riders. A recent report by African Population and Health Research Centre reports the highest rate ever at 157,434 teen pregnancies between January and May 2020 in Kenya. Nairobi county tops these statistics by staggering 11,734 teen pregnancies in the same three months’ period.

What it does

SPONSOR-ZI! PROJECT (Loosely meaning ‘SPONSOR? NO WAY!’) is a two-pronged behavior change and sexual reproductive health education project that seeks to stem the massively increasing teen pregnancies in Nairobi which have risen sharply after school’s closure due to COVID-19. This will be done through three-pronged approaches comprised of; – Distribution of free anti-sponsor dating practice education magazine dubbed ‘Sponsor-ZI’, Provision of free reusable sanitary towels to vulnerable girls and a comprehensive program for behavior change and SHR education.

SPONSOR-ZI FREE SRH COMIC MAGAZINE - The project seeks to print and distribute 10,000 copies of the comic magazine comprised of sexual reproductive health education information inform of stories, Poems, graphics, trivia games, etc. themed to discourage the practice of dating elder men by teen girls.
PROVISION OF FREE REUSABLE SANITARY TOWELS TO VULNERABLE GIRLS – This will provide an alternative provision for the sanitary towels to stem the reliance on sponsors by then girls thus stem the taking advantage of elder men on poor vulnerable girls.
AGE APPROPRIATE SRH AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION CLASSES- This will be done through – SRHE classes by trained facilitators, school video shows, Peer educators and SRHE Clubs in Schools – This approach will be used when schools open and will carry in line with COVID-19 guidelines set by the Government.

How we built it
Train and engage 100-part time virtual peer educators and for the distribution of magazines and peer counseling of teens where possible,
Content development design, printing and distribute 1000 copies of anti-sponsor dating practice BCC and SRH educational magazine.
Establish SRH education and support, the magazine to provide vital links to and contacts to various youth-friendly SRHE services in Nairobi.
Bi-weekly virtual SRHE classes in Nairobi slums.
Provide sanitary towels to 5,000 vulnerable girls.

Challenges we ran into

Lack of funds to reaches a significant number of girls in slums with the SRHE program.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Established digital SHRE channels on social medial Distribution of sanitary towels to 50 needy girls Peer classes to 50 girls against dating sponsors Linkage on 5 girls to SGBV case management centers.

What we learned

What's next for SPONSOR ZI! PROJECT ( SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH EDUCATION )

Partnership for seed funding of SRE magazine - The magazine production will be financially sustained through sponsored advertisements such as school supplies, uniforms, etc. The program will be sustained through continued fundraising from like-minded partners, and through partnership and collaborations for technical support e.g. with the government department of education and ministry of gender. The increasing number of sanitary towels distributed to cover 5,000 needy girls. Increase coverage of virtual SRHE coverage to 10,000 girls from slums.