Agency and Empowerment for Vulnerable Girls in Tanzania through Peer-Peer Education and Scholarship - SEGA Girls

The diversity of community-driven organizations (CDOs) working in Africa is often defined by the needs of the community they serve. Working with CDOs in East and Southern Africa has given us a wealth of knowledge and perspective, allowing us to recognize the significant contributions these organizations make to their communities. Every day, we learn about how the unique and important work they do greatly impacts the lives and agency of girls in their communities. 

For SEGA (Secondary Education for Girls Advancement), girls' scholarship for their education is key. Since 2007, SEGA’s work has been to create opportunities for marginalized girls in Tanzania to go back to school and have access to education. SEGA gives vulnerable girls scholarships to attend SEGA Girls' Secondary School where they are nurtured to become confident, resourceful, and independent. SEGA currently has more than 260 students in their boarding school with 90% of these girls under scholarship. 

What sets SEGA apart is their continued work with the girls – during their time at SEGA and after. While in SEGA, the girls go through the Academics Plus program that is tailored to teach girls valuable skills to develop agricultural and entrepreneurship skills, leadership skills, self-awareness, and communication skills. The girls also get to learn about their sexual reproductive health (SRH). The academic class program is executed through individual counseling, hands-on/practical experiences, classroom-based learning, and community outreach programs.

After graduating from SEGA, the graduates are further supported to continue their education through scholarship and are also engaged in SEGA’s Modern Girl program (Msichana wa Kisasa – MK), a peer-to-peer community outreach program. Clementine, the MK program coordinator works with the SEGA graduates who serve as their mentors/peer educators in the program. Currently targeting communities in 6 districts in Morogoro, Iringa, and Dodoma in Tanzania, the MK program targets girls aged 10 to 20 years. SEGA believes that this age is crucial because young women and girls at the age of 10 – 20 often face the risk of being forced into early marriage, having an early pregnancy, and dropping out of school. 

The MK mentors take the girls in the community through health and hygiene education, life skills education, financial education, and entrepreneurship. As Clementine puts it, the program teaches the girls to ‘lead themselves as they make choices about their lives’. The MK peer-to-peer community outreach is also an opportunity for the SEGA graduates to pass on the knowledge they gained in school through the SEGA Academic Plus program to the community. 

Jesca, a SEGA graduate from the class of 2016 and currently an intern with the organization, is one of the fortunate girls who have benefitted from SEGA Girls’ education and scholarship programs. 

Jesca - SEGA’s Alumni, Class of 2016

“After completing my O’level studies at SEGA, I was fortunate enough to be selected to join Kazima High School in the Tabora region for my Advanced-level studies with support from SEGA,” Jesca says. “I graduated from high school in 2019 and went on to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Education Psychology at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). Throughout my three years at UDSM, SEGA continued to support me in achieving my academic goals,” she added.

After completing her university studies, Jesca worked in SEGA’s Msichana wa Kisasa (MK) program as a mentor for one year. Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, together with other MK mentors and safeguarding field officers, Jesca meets with girls in the community for two hours in designated local schools. Through the program, SEGA reaches over 1,800 girls every week in the 28 centres situated in the six target districts in Tanzania.

Through their education and scholarship programs, SEGA hopes to continue to give hope to more girls like Jesca to build their agency and give them access to education and empowerment opportunities. SEGA believes their approach to girls’ education and empowerment gives girls in Tanzania the space to work towards their goals and improve their chances of reducing poverty in their lives and communities. Support them today.