The Kishua Academy program is an add-on to an existing sexual reproductive health program (Kuwa Mjanja) that equips young women to live healthy, productive economic lives. Centering on building connections to mentors and near-peers, Kishua Academy equips young women with the skills, capital and relationships they need to lay the foundations for economically prosperous lives.
IDEO.org and PSI partnered together to design an economic empowerment (EE) program on top of an existing sexual reproductive health (SRH) program for young adolescent girls in rural Tanzania. The existing program, Kuwa Mjanja (swahili for "be smart") is designed to inform girls around different types of contraceptives, and help them understand how contraceptives and birth spacing can empower them to achieve their dreams. Beyond access to information on sexual health however, girls also expressed a clear desire to learn more business and vocational skills, gain market exposure, and have access to capital.
Over a 3 month period, we collaborated intensely with the PSI research team in Tanzania to gather insights around girls between 15-19 years old; their communities, and have a better understanding of their hopes, dreams, and pain points. Kishua Academy builds on the narrative behind Kuwa Mjanja of every girl having the skills and resources to determine her own future. We designed 8 different prototypes, ranging from various mentorship models, to self-paced business kits, to celebratory business fairs.
“Kishua Academy” is designed to be a mentor-based program where a girl can be guided through every stage of her entrepreneurial journey. Throughout the program, she attends business and vocational workshops, is matched with both a peer mentor and more experienced business mentor, and is linked to contraceptive resources through Kuwa Mjanja. They also have the option of joining a savings group led by a community role model.
By far my favorite moment during this project was working together with the PSI Tanzania team to host a marketplace and festival event called “Tamasha la Furaha.” The celebration featured booths where girls could sell their products (baked goods, jewelry, etc); guest speakers on sexual health, entrepreneurship, and government loans; and live dances and music.
It was a smashing hit! All members of the community were engaged in the event, and even men and young boys were asking questions around sexual health and how to protect themselves. We learned that live dances and entertainment are key to drawing a crowd, and communal events such as these provide a safe opportunity for communities to learn about sensitive topics together, and anonymously. Here are some quotes from the event:
A girl after selling out her fried pastries: “I feel I am more confident now. I improved my business. I see that what I do has more value than I thought.”
“The speakers encouraged us to be brave and confident. They motivate us to do something in our lives rather than staying at home.”
Even though most girls we are designing for are out of school, they come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are young mothers, while others are young single girls who still live with their parents. Most girls engage in some sort of entrepreneurial activity, but their aspirations are limited to what they see in their communities.
We came up with the concept of a “Career Dada,” a peer mentor who has experience in business who can also act as an older sister and give sound sexual health advice. Career Dadas, and their mentees “Career Bintis,” also are mentored and have hands-on apprenticeship opportunities from their “Career Mamas,” older women who are successful businesswomen and have stable family lives. By designing multiple layers of mentorship opportunities, we are creating a program that engages the broader community, and also ensures generational support for girls.
We could not have extracted insights with such depth without collaborating with the PSI Tanzania team. Traditionally, IDEO.org would be the ones traveling and conducting interviews in the local communities, but COVID-19 presented us with opportunities to co-design with local research teams who have a far better understanding of the communities we were designing for. During this project; Don, Sela, and I learned to take on the posture as learners and rely on PSI Tanzania to guide our insights, initial concepts, and final prototype designs. It was uncomfortable for us to let go of control, but having the Tanzanian research team lead our designs also forced us to ask difficult, yet essential questions: “How can we ensure that Kishua Academy truly benefits the local community instead of just satisfying donor requests?” “Are we truly solving real and urgent issues for girls?” “Is our solution a program that the community would feel ownership over?”
