Unlocking the Power of Adolescent Girls Through Agriculture

Eric Kaduru of KadAfrica Estate Limited and John Onekalit of the Kitgum Concerned Women's Association both in Uganda will provide a 12-month, integrated life skills and agricultural training program along with land and seedlings to young refugee women out of school in Uganda to begin their own sustainable passion fruit farming cooperatives. Uganda has accepted many refugees, but also has the world's youngest population and very high unemployment. As a result, particularly girls have very limited employment opportunities if they even manage to finish school, and instead often work in the sex industry or immediately get married. This in turn leads to increased teenage pregnancies and rates of HIV. They will provide a cooperative start-up kit including training in sustainable passion fruit farming, which has a guaranteed market, access to land through a community-based land lease model, and passion fruit seedlings. The girls will also be taught about finance, nutrition, and sexual and reproductive health. They will test their approach in two refugee camps with 180 adolescent girls between 14- and 22-years old who are out of school. The success of the project will be assessed in terms of the effect on poverty and health.