Note: Judi Aubel will be presenting on behalf of Mamadou Coulibaly.
In Senegal, over a ten-year period and through an iterative learning process, a conceptual framework and methodology called Change through Culture (CtC) was developed through the Girls’ Holistic Development (GHD) program to address girls’ education, child marriage, teen pregnancy and female genital mutilation. GHD is an intergenerational approach that involves elders, adults and adolescents in various dialogical activities to promote collective reflection and consensus-building for change in support of adolescent girls. Evaluation of GHD reveals that the CtC approach it has led to very positive change in community capacity to promote change in line with their priorities for adolescent girls’ development.
How the GHD program exemplifies: People-driven solutions The GHD program is an example of a people-driven solution as it catalyzes dialogue within communities and challenges them to identify community level actions to promote Girls’ Holistic Development.
Presentation objectives: First, to explain the 5 pillars of the CtC approach. Second, to describe the use of the CtC approach in GHD. Third, to present the very positive results of the program based on an extensive external evaluation.
The Change Through Culture (CtC approach): The CtC approach builds on 5 key pillars: 1) grounding all community interventions in cultural context; 2) acknowledging the culturally-designated role of elders, especially of grandmothers, in SBC related to women, children and adolescents; 3) strengthening intergenerational communication; 4) strengthening community leader skills and commitment; 5) using communication methods based on dialogue for consensus-building. The use of CtC approach in the GHD program will be explained.
In the GHD program a series of dialogue-focused activities elicit community-wide discussion of key GHD issues. These include: intergenerational forums (with elders, adults, adolescents, male and female); Days of Praise of Grandmothers; Grandmother Leadership Training; Under-the- Tree participatory learning sessions with girls, mothers, grandmothers; and intergenerational women-specific forums.
Results of the Girls’ Holistic Development program: The GHD program elicited strong community engagement from traditional community and religious leaders. Adult education methods were used in all community activities to elicit reflection and dialogue to encourage community consensus-building for change. Strong community engagement in GHD reflects the critical importance of involving culturally-designated and community-recognized authorities in efforts to promote social change. Along with adolescents, parents and elders were involved, and especially grandmothers, given their role in supporting adolescent girls’ development.
