Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future Project.
O3 was a project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency [SIDA] through UNESCO aimed at strengthening the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education [CSE], now called Life Skills and Health Education (LSHE).
Implemented by the Malcom Moffat College of Education and Restless Development, the O3 project ran from 2019 to 2024 and executed LSHE through the development of well trained teachers in Central Province.
During the tenure of the O3 project, Restless Development was committed to providing technical support to trained teachers in LSHE through LSHE school based training, role model sessions with parents to promote parent-child communication in CSE and SRHR, orientation of traditional leaders, campaigns on early unintended pregnancies[EUP] and running school community health awareness events.
Equipping in-service teachers with Life Skills and Health Education (LSHE) is significant to address Early Unintended Pregnancies, Child Marriages, and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). Addressing these barriers is vital for improving educational outcomes for learners in Central Province
– Hamududu Mambe-Central Province Provincial Education Officer
The O3 project also supported 40 health facilities and 40 schools to hold community-based awareness events. reaching over 1269 girls and over 3,000 community members with Life Skills and Health Education (LSHE) and information on prevention of EUPs and child marriages, as well as access to sexual and reproductive health services in communities.
In collaboration with various partner ministries, including the Ministry of Education, Health, Community Development & Social Services, and Home Affairs and Internal Security, we facilitated discussions to raise awareness about the harmful effects of early pregnancies on adolescent girls and their communities. We also discussed the importance of the Children’s Code Act, the prevalence of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases, and statistics on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV infections among adolescents in Central Province.
We also facilitated discussions to raise awareness about the harmful effects of early pregnancies on adolescent girls and their communities. During these dialogue meetings, we discussed the importance of the Children’s Code Act, the prevalence of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases, and statistics on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV infections among adolescents in Central Province. These dialogues held under the O3 project helped participants gain in-depth knowledge on the importance of comprehensive Sexual Reproductive Health education and the crucial role of parental and community support in mitigating EUPs, child marriages and other issues affecting young people. The project also conducted courtesy calls to various chiefdoms to cascade interventions such as community dialogues and awareness campaigns on early child marriages and early unintended pregnancies.
There is a need to continue raising awareness in our chiefdoms, I am rolling out an awareness program in Mailo where I will go around and sensitise parents and the community on the importance of education, this will help curb child marriages and early unintended pregnancies as parents are the custodians of their children’s well-being
– Chief Mailo of Mailo Chiefdom in Serenje District.
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