Girls’ education has been a priority in most of the developing countries including Tanzania. There has been a notable growth in enrolment in primary and secondary schools due to abolition of mandatory school fees in primary schools in 2001, relaxation of school uniform requirements coupled with the compulsory requirement that parents/guardians send all children to school but school dropout rate is still high especially to the school girl children with around 5,500 girls drop out of schools per year in Tanzania due to pregnancy. Responding to issue, YAWE launched “Safe School Program in Shinyanga” aiming at improving the wellbeing of school children to lead heathier and empowered lives. The project is addressing the rout causes of VAC in schools and communities.

Ashura Masanja a form two student at Luhumbo Secondary School was subjected to more gender-based violence, harassment, intimidations and discouragements in her studies by her parents. She was often abused by her parents and being prohibited to attend to school, It reached a time where she was even about to quit school, her schooling was entrenched with a lot of hopeless and discouragements from her parents, parents were not ready to support Ashura. She walked a long distance going to school without any aid that would facilitate her for going to school.

Here she is saying; “….My parents used to beat me several times prohibiting me to attend to school, they did not want to buy for me school uniforms and other school requirements, for me it was very difficult to approach my parents and inform them to buy school amenities for me, at first I did it several times with no any positive response but later on they started shouting at me and throwing harsh words to me whenever I tell them to buy school requirements….”.
…Now I thank YAWE for educating my parents, things have really drastically changed, my parents are now supporting me, and they have bought for me school uniforms and other requirements for school, I used to walk a long distance going to school but now they have bought me a bicycle which is helping me to reach to school very early and also, I returns early quite different from the previous time….”
She continues saying “…YAWE has changed my life and now I will study hard to achieve my aspirations because there is no any more obstacle for me to fail. I promise to continue this movement by educating other parents and students, I dream of become a lawyer in my carrier…”. Ashura Masanja, Luhumbo Secondary School.

YAWE under ‘Safe School Program in Shinyanga’ has transformed behaviors, attitudes and wellbeing of many school adolescents, teachers and parents on protection of child rights and response to VAC cases. This has impacted positively among school children through creating safe learning environment at school and home