Acronyms

ExECuTIvE SuMMARy

Martha R.L Muhwezi Executive Director

FAWE’s 2021 Annual Report is an overview of the organization’s achievements from January to December 2021, the challenges experienced, lessons learnt and proposals for desired activities for the year 2022. FAWE is committed to her mission of promoting girls’ education and women’s empowerment in Africa by aligning her actions with her 2019-2023 Strategic Plan.

Facilitating access to education and training opportunities for girls remains one of FAWE’s core commitments. More than 1,470 young girls and boys from Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda benefited from scholarships to pursue their studies at secondary and university levels and an addition 19 young women, drawn from various countries in Africa, benefited from scholarships for Master and PhD degrees. In addition, FAWE supported 850 out of school girls and young women through financing and implementing income generating projects in Mali and Tanzania and 183 girls (scholars) in Rwanda supported on entrepreneurship.

FAWE continues to be a thought leader in girls’ education and women’s empowerment in Africa. Leadership is reinforced by the continuous creation of knowledge and publication of research findings that promote the mainstreaming of gender-responsive approaches in education and contribute to development of policy briefs. In 2021, teachers in Senegal, Togo, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda were trained in Gender Responsive Pedagogy (GRP) and introduced to FAWE’s Tuseme model. The teachers in Burundi, DRC, and Rwanda further received training on School Related Gender Based Violence (SRGBV).

It is important to note FAWE’s focus on girls’ education in Science Technology Education and Mathematics (STEM). FAWE awarded 40 STEM teachers in Uganda for their commitment in supporting more girls take up STEM subjects and for being gender responsive in their teaching methodologies. Over 196 teachers and 5,300 students from Kenya and Nigeria were trained on basic programming and digital skills.

The year 2021 was also a year of expansion for FAWE, both programmatically and financially. FAWE has expanded her presence on the continent and strengthened the capacity of the National Chapters through various GRP training, coaching on website creation and management, advocacy, resource mobilization and communication strategy development The Alumni network also grew and enhanced its visibility. We have launched several largescale projects ranging from youth empowerment through sexual education to promoting women’s engagement in politics. At least 132 young women leaders benefited from our leadership mentorship program and received tailored training to boost their political careers. FAWE also participated in various international days advocating for effective gender mainstreaming in education sector.

Bridging the gender gap remains a hallmark of FAWE. The organization will continue to work closely with partners and key stakeholders to ensure that young girls and women have access to quality education. Though, the Covid-19 pandemic remains a major challenge to the effective implementation of our projects, FAWE has adopted well thought out and resilient strategies to overcome COVID 19 barriers and, employed deliberate interventions to continue promoting girls’ rights, quality education and equitable access to work opportunities. Our achievements and actions initiated during this year are an ideal starting point to spearhead a new year full of promises for women’s empowerment and girls’ education on the African continent.