Girl Empowerment Project

Livingstone, Zambia

→ Prices start from US$1,445 for 2 weeks

Volunteering to achieve gender equality

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, Zambia rates amongst the worst 30 countries in the world for gender inequality and its communities are facing terrible issues such as child marriage, early pregnancy, violence, abuse and lack of opportunities for girls and women whose only role seems to be becoming a wife and a mother.

Together with our volunteers, we work with young girls, boys, youth and adults to empower women, bring confidence to them and discuss topical issues so to overcome stereotypical roles regarding men and women and bring better opportunities for all and help achieve UN’s Goal of Gender Equality.

Learn more about Livingstone

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Volunteer Reviews

Madi

I have had an amazing three weeks in Zambia. I feel like I’ve made such a big impact in the short time I’ve been here. The women in our morning group were so lovely and I loved hearing about their businesses and their success. I loved teaching the girls and boys about hard-hitting issues like stereotypes and female submissiveness and gender-based violence.

Your Project, Your Purpose

Gender inequality is one of the biggest problems of the modern world and although we have collectively made huge progress in this area; there are lots of communities and countries facing terrible issues where girls are clearly at a disadvantage and with fewer opportunities. For instance, out of the world’s 130 million out-of-school youth, 70% are girls, and half of all first births in the developing world are to adolescent girls. In Sub Saharan Africa 75% of all HIV infected people aged 15 – 24, are young women! And worldwide 50% of sexual assaults are against girls aged 15 years and younger.

Unfortunately, in Zambia, things are no different since one in ten Zambian women are married before the age of 15. Women’s role is to become a wife and mother; there’s no room for ambitions, dreams and careers for them; only for boys.

Through this project, we aim to educate and empower young girls and give them a voice of their own to speak up for their rights and help them make more informed decisions as they move towards womanhood. In order to achieve true gender equality, we believe it’́s fundamental to work not only with girls but also with boys, adolescents, and adult men and women!

In order to achieve these goals, we base our work in the communities surrounding Livingstone in 6 basic key elements: self-confidence, income generation, education, health, early pregnancy and safety.

As a volunteer, you will visit different communities on a daily basis and work with different age and sex groups delivering workshops, lessons, games, sporting activities and more so to work around these elements and help achieve our goal towards gender equality!

This is your opportunity to go M.A.D. (make a difference) in rural communities who are really struggling on a daily basis and would highly benefit from your support and assistance! What are you waiting for?

A Day In Your Life

You will be working Monday to Friday both in the morning and afternoon in different communities and projects. You will break for lunch and come back to your accommodation for a relaxing time before heading back on the project. Evenings and weekends are free for you to explore this amazing tourist destination that has so much to offer to anyone who visits it.

You will be working closely with a women’s group delivering workshops about topical issues that align with our key elements such as health, safety, income generation and the role of women in their society. This will definitely be a highlight of your experience since you ́ll be able to see and understand first hand the issues they are facing but also see their drive and ambition to progress and have a brighter future. Some of the women in the group have grown so much from not being able to speak in public to actually becoming confident enough to guide tours around their communities. They are a true inspiration!
Working with boys is also an essential part of our work since we aim to bridge the gender-based gap that exists in the community. We need volunteers to bring their most creative ideas on how to deliver interesting workshops, games and activities that will capture boys´ attention while discussing essential issues such as mutual respect, bullying, violence and sex education among others. Our ultimate goal is to let them express themselves and become the first advocates of women’s rights in their communities.
Adolescence is a very critical period in a girl’s life since it´s the time where they can flourish through education and skills training or they can also have their future stunted by child marriage, early pregnancy or abuse. That’s why our volunteers and team on the ground work closely with a group of girls mentoring and delivering workshops on education, self-confidence, health issues, early pregnancy, safety and income generation so to empower them.

One of the main ways to empower women is to work around income generation activities and provide them with tools and equip them with what they need to lead a self-sustainable life. Through this project, our volunteers assist a group of girls with basic skills to grow their own vegetables at our very own farm. They will learn not only to care for their own crops but with the vegetables they grow they´ll be able to feed themselves and support their families as well.
Sports, and rugby especially, is still a very male-dominated scene. Through this initiative, you will help us break this stereotype that sports are only reserved for men. You will deliver tag rugby sessions and allow girls not only to learn this sport and bring down barriers that state it’s only reserved for men but also provide essential life skills to these girls such as teamwork, discipline, responsibility and effort.
Fill your weekends with adrenaline activities like bungee jumping and white water rafting. Take advantage of optional trips to wildlife havens like Botswana’s Chobe National Park or visit the amazing Victoria Falls, one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, from both sides of the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. If that’s not enough you can enjoy them from a microlight flight or take a swim in Devil’s Pool (seasonal).