Educate Girls in Zambia on Gender Equity

Our  project continues to work to remove the barriers that keep girls in vulnerable communities in Zambia out of school, addressing the underlying causes of low participation through school-based sessions and safe counselling groups. Students, including teenage boys, build awareness and understanding of gender equity, helping to reduce the number of out-of-school girls and supporting a more inclusive learning environment for the whole community.

Why This Matters: Vulnerability and Girls' Education in Zambia

In many rural and low-income Zambian communities, girls face compounding barriers to staying in school: poverty that puts school fees and supplies out of reach, lack of access to menstrual hygiene products and education, early pregnancy, and social norms that prioritise boys' schooling over girls'. These pressures mean girls from vulnerable households are far more likely to fall behind or drop out entirely as they move from primary into secondary school. Each activity in this reporting period was designed to address one or more of these specific,  risk factors for the communities this project serves.

Between May and August 2026, the project delivered six activities spanning from menstrual hygiene management (MHM), health awareness, community fundraising, and an education-focused excursion. Together, these activities engaged students, teachers, and the wider community in support of the project's gender equity goals.

• Two MHM workshops were held during the reporting period: one at BSNP on 12 June 2026, and one at Chinkuli Secondary School on 17 June 2026, together reaching over 80 girls. Both boys and girls participated in each session.Lack of access to sanitary products and menstrual health knowledge is one of the most common and preventable reasons girls from low-income households miss or leave school. By building practical knowledge and reducing stigma around menstruation, these workshops directly target a barrier that disproportionately affects girls in vulnerable communities, helping them stay in the classroom during and after their periods.
• Breast Cancer Awareness Workshop was held on 22 May 2026 at Space4all, this workshop extended the project's health education into the wider community, giving students, mothers, and caregivers in a resource-limited setting accurate information on early detection. Reaching families, not just students, reinforces the project's broader goal of shifting community attitudes toward girls' and women's health and education.
• Education Tour to the Chifwema Arboretum on 21 August 2026. For many students in these communities, opportunities to learn outside a crowded or under-resourced classroom are rare. Excursions like this give girls in particular a positive, hands-on learning experience, exposure beyond their immediate village or township, and a chance to build the confidence that keeps them engaged in school.
• Community Engagement: Mini HYROX and Quiz Night these drew on community energy to build wider support. A Mini HYROX fitness event was held at CMomFit on 9 May 2026, and a Quiz Night took place at The Villagers on 20 August 2026. While not gender-equity sessions themselves, these community events raised local visibility and funds that helps to sustain the school-based workshops and outreach in vulnerable communities described and at the same time creating awareness on gender equity.

Chance4all will continue our school-based sessions and counselling groups in the coming months, building on the momentum from this reporting period, with a continued focus on the communities and households most at risk of girls dropping out. Further MHM and health workshops are planned, alongside continued community engagement to sustain support for girls' education in these vulnerable communities.

Thank you to our donors via GlobalGiving for making these activities possible. Your support directly funds the workshops, materials, and outreach that keep girls from vulnerable communities in school and build a more equitable learning environment for the whole community.

Links:

• Website
• https://www.facebook.com/chance4all