Transforming Futures: AGENCI’s Impact on Adolescent Girls in Crisis Contexts

At WUSC, we believe in the transformative power of education to unlock opportunities and create brighter futures for young people, their families, and their communities. A quality education can help young people to better understand and exercise their rights, be happier, healthier, and contribute to positive change in their community and broader society. 

This belief sits at the core of the Adolescent Girls’ Education in Crisis Initiative (AGENCI), a 4-year project implemented by WUSC and Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), in collaboration with a number of implementing partners including Windle International in Uganda and Windle Trust South Sudan. Launched in 2020, AGENCI sought to tackle the social, cultural, and economic barriers that limit girls’ education in crisis-affected areas of Uganda, South Sudan, and Syria that negatively affect girls’ education and, ultimately, unlock the empowering potential of education for adolescent girls and young women living in these regions. 

The Compounding Effects of Crisis on Girls’ Education

Girls in crisis-affected contexts are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than their peers in non-crisis settings. They face numerous challenges that limit their ability to make decisions about their lives, their bodies, and their education. Harmful social norms often lead to the prioritization of early marriage and household responsibilities over education. Meanwhile, high rates of violence expose girls to a heightened risk of physical and psychological harm, further hindering their educational aspirations. 

AGENCI’s Multi-Faceted Approach: A Hopeful Path for Adolescent Girls and Young Women

In response to these challenges, AGENCI adopted a multi-faceted approach tailored to the unique needs of girls in each of the countries we operate in: Uganda, South Sudan, and Syria. The project intervened to address barriers that girls face within schools and communities through the following interventions: 

• Strengthening life skills education, mentorship, and psychosocial services: Girls participated in life skills training, mentorship programs, and psychological services, gaining essential knowledge and access to safe spaces. This included sessions on sexual and reproductive health and gender inequality. 
• Enhancing teacher training and leadership development: AGENCI provided tailored training to enhance  gender-responsive and inclusive teaching. Teachers benefited from mentoring and peer coaching to sustain long-term improvements. 
• Generating community support for girls’ education and empowerment: Through community dialogues, awareness campaigns, and locally-led initiatives, AGENCI fostered collective action to improve girls’ education. 
• Enhancing alternative education pathways for young women: Girls accessed vocational training and apprenticeships, opening doors to diverse career opportunities.

Driving Change for Girls and Young Women Living in Crisis: Lessons from AGENCI 

Over four years, AGENCI reached 339,588 girls and young women across Uganda, South Sudan and Syria. The initiative has driven positive change in a number of key areas, as well as learning.

Life skills build confidence amongst girls and young women:  Lacking autonomy is a key barrier for girls’ education. By building self-confidence, assertive communication, negotiation, teamwork, and problem solving skills, girls become better equipped to engage in class, advocate for their rights, and participate in their communities. In addition to life skills sessions, AGENCI also supported schools to provide mentorship, psychosocial support, and workshops on topics like menstrual hygiene management. 

“Through mentorship, I gained confidence in myself which greatly developed my leadership skills. This enabled me to compete for the position of Head Girl where I emerged successful.“

Flavia Bandaru, Female Student in Uganda

Social norm change is essential to enable girls and young women to thrive. For education to be truly empowering, girls need a supportive and enabling environment where their rights are recognized, upheld, and protected. AGENCI shifted from broad awareness campaigns to actively engaging communities, providing flexible funding for local innovations and facilitating discussions on barriers like forced marriage, early pregnancy, and gender inequalities.

Access to learning is not enough on its own, learning environments must be safe, supportive and inclusive. Access to learning must be paired with safe, supportive schools. AGENCI enhanced teachers’ skills and confidence through training, coaching, and peer mentoring, ensuring lessons are gender-responsive and inclusive. This multi-pronged approach provided ongoing professional support rather than isolated training.

Multi-stakeholder collaboration is key for sustainable impact. Multi-stakeholder partnerships  were key  to AGENCI’s success. By engaging national Ministries of Education, district/state governments, refugee coordinating agencies, civil society organizations, and school management bodies, the project aligned with local needs and national priorities. Community leaders’ insights shaped relevant interventions amplifying impact and creating an environment where girls’ voices are valued, fostering enduring change.

AGENCI has demonstrated that helping girls to thrive through education can create opportunities for thousands of girls to build better futures for themselves and their communities. To learn more about the impact of this work, check out this case study and watch this video. 

The successes of AGENCI would not have been possible without the support of Global Affairs Canada, Aga Khan Foundation Canada and our programming partners, including Windle International in Uganda, Obongi and Moyo District Education Offices, Erepi Primary Teachers training College, Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda,  Windle Trust International, MoGEI- Technical Committee, State Ministry of Education, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, and theState Ministry of Education, the Western Equatoria State in South Sudan), Syria Society for Social Development (SSSD), Local leaders and shuras, teachers, as well as other respected community members in Syria.