Dr James Emmanuel Kwegyir-Aggrey (1875-1927) once said, “If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you not only educate a woman but you educate a family (nation).”
The first US president, George Washington (1732-1799), said he owed all his success to the moral, intellectual and physical education he received from his mother. At a time when the girl child is harassed by so many challenges in life; teen pregnancies, HIV infections, gender-based violence, to mention a few. She Conquers came forward to help the plight of adolescent girls and young women in South Africa by launching a three-year national campaign that aims at redressing these social issues and improve their lives.
Since 2018 is the campaign’s second year anniversary, various partners have come together to be part of an activation drive across South Africa between July and August. is uniting to work towards providing every adolescent girl and young women in the country with access to the resources that they need to lead a happy, healthy and successful life.
Every girl should have the power to make informed decisions concerning their future. This means being educated, healthy, and safe from violence. When girls gain knowledge, they can truly get a chance to become independent.
The campaign gives them more ways to transform their communities and break the cycle of poverty. This will ensure that girls don’t suffer disproportionately in poor and vulnerable households, but instead, advance their skills and career opportunities.
And the Department of Health realises that the well-being of a young person depends on a variety of factors, including mental health and emotional support. That’s the reason loveLife’s psychosocial centre (which allows people to send a Plz Cal Me to 083 323 1023 to talk to trained counsellors about their struggles in a safe space) will be a key element in the #SheConquersWellness2018 activations across 22 priority sub-districts around South Africa. Along with entertainment, prizes and information from healthcare providers, there will be counsellors to hold sessions for people who need counselling; nurses and HIV testing stations.
The activations seek to promote knowledge, referrals and linkages to health services, which include; testing and comprehensive screening services to the communities.
The outcome, beyond the activations, are: increased knowledge of access to health information and services; demand and uptake (by community members, especially adolescent girls and young women) of health services; escalate the visibility of health service providers and link community service providers to health facilities and schools. The activations also seek increase participation in the Conquer Connect Clubs, run by young people in their communities, at a national level.
For more information about the She Conquers campaign, loveLife, BWise Health, The Department of Health’s Phila campaign, check out the sites below:
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