Girls Rise Up! aims to develop the confidence, skills and knowledge of at-risk girls in Solomon Islands and to help them establish supportive peer networks and the opportunity to safely advocate for issues that affect them. By expanding from Honiara to rural provinces, the project aims to support rural adolescent girls who face safeguarding risks related to logging and mining operations. The project is led by YWCA in partnership with CARE International and supported by the Australian Government through the Pacific Girl program, managed by Pacific Women.
Clera Tegu, a 17 year-old deaf girl from Makira Ulawa Province in Solomon Islands, is one of over 200 young girls involved in the Girls Rise Up! The project aims to develop the confidence, skills and knowledge of at-risk girls while helping them establish supportive peer networks and the opportunity to safely advocate for issues that affect them. Through the project’s life skills program, Clera has learned several income generating skills including paper bead and jewellery making, and lavalava dying, which enables her to earn money and contribute to her family and church.
The Girls Rise Up! project is based in Honiara and aims to develop the confidence, skills to earn a living and knowledge of over 200 at-risk girls to help them establish supportive peer networks and the opportunity to safely advocate for issues that affect them. Under the project, community women are trained as mentors to work with girls who are most vulnerable, ensuring that they have confidence, awareness of and access to services to make the right life choices.