Meet Sharon
Sharon Aripa is a quiet, somewhat shy, happy young woman. She lives with her grandmother and nine other members of her extended family in a small village in eastern Uganda. Sharon hasn’t seen her father since 2011; her mother, a teacher, lives four hours away. Recognizing how hard her mother has had to work to ensure that Sharon and her two sisters can attend school, Sharon has always been committed to doing well in her studies. And her participation in Global Grassroots’ 2015 Young Women’s Academy was no different.
Sharon learned that most young girls in her community become pregnant lured by the hope that the men they engage with will provide for them so she decided to introduce students at two local primary schools to a better, safer way to help meet their basic needs, including school fees. Using part of a grant from Global Grassroots and small plots of land contributed by Amusus Primary and Star Nursery and Primary schools, Sharon and the students planted fields of tomatoes and more than 100 orange seedlings. Sharon used garden work along with classroom discussion, discipleship principles, and illustrated stories to engage pupils in conversations about early pregnancy, including the causes of and risky behaviors that predispose girls to early pregnancy and the effects of and life skills necessary to avoid becoming pregnant.
Sharon’s efforts have had a direct impact on 377 pupils between the two schools in two distinct ways. First, proceeds from the sale of harvested tomatoes provide support for girls in the current school year. The orange trees are a longer-term economic solution. Second, the young girls in the two schools are be more likely to stay in school and avoid the risky behaviors they formerly felt they had to engage in. There has been a significant drop in the number of girls who have dropped out since participating in Sharon’s program. School administrators and teachers at both schools were so impressed with Sharon’s venture and grateful for the investment in their students’ future that they all have continued the field activities and the open dialogue with the students. As for Sharon, she is beginning her second year at Kyambogo University in Kampala, Uganda, majoring in Education with a focus in Economics and Mathematics.
Of our 21 program graduates in 2015, 100% succeeded in launching ventures that had a social impact, reaching a total 3,206 people, including the women and girls as direct beneficiaries as well as other stakeholders such as teachers, community members, local leaders, church members, police, doctors, nurses, and parents. Our 2016 program graduates (of which there are 25) have impacted more than 4,460 people, representing both direct and indirect beneficiaries of their work. Every young woman who has participated in our program since its inception in 2014 is currently attending University and none have become pregnant.
In 2017 Global Grassroots’ Young Women’s Academy will expand its curriculum to include information about how water access can result in important social change, particularly for women and girls. The Academy will welcome motivated young women from across East Africa as well as South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. Participants will be secondary school graduates, some of whom will be college-bound. For those participants who will not go on to university, the training they receive through our Young Women’s Academy will enable them still succeed in life and have a long-term positive impact on their communities. For more information, contact Global Programs Officer Heidi Luquer at hluquer@globalgrassroots.org
