Tuseme: Girls’ Empowerment Theater-for-Development Clubs
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
Champions of Quality Education in Africa competition.
Tuseme is a student-centered empowerment model that uses theatre-for-development techniques to identify and address concerns that hinder girls’ social and academic development. Through Tuseme clubs, girls develop action plans to solve their problems, involving the support of peers, educators, parents and community members.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
23, rue Calmette
Project City
Dakar
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Senegal
Your idea
Country your work focuses on:
Senegal
Website URL
What stage is your project in?
Operating for more than 5 years
YouTube Upload
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
<$50
Name Your Project
Tuseme: Girls’ Empowerment Theater-for-Development Clubs
Describe Your Idea
Tuseme is a student-centered empowerment model that uses theatre-for-development techniques to identify and address concerns that hinder girls’ social and academic development. Through Tuseme clubs, girls develop action plans to solve their problems, involving the support of peers, educators, parents and community members.
Innovation
Describe your idea in fewer than 50 words.
Tuseme is a student-centered empowerment model that uses theatre-for-development techniques to identify and address concerns that hinder girls’ social and academic development. Through Tuseme clubs, girls develop action plans to solve their problems, involving the support of peers, educators, parents and community members.
What makes your idea unique?
Tuseme is a Swahili word meaning "let's speak out." Tuseme clubs are unique because they empower girls to express themselves and find solutions to their problems which do not negatively affect their education. Because club members secure the support of teachers, peers, family and community members in resolving issues, Tuseme helps bring about the meaningful transformation of gender relations. Finally, Tuseme is unique in that it uses a training of trainers approach to expand its clubs.
Tuseme clubs are created over a number of steps. FAWE/Sénégal first conducts a training in gender issues and Tuseme techniques for the school principal and two teachers, who will be the club’s leaders. Next, FAWE/Sénégal and the trained teachers explain the Tuseme process to the 30 girls and 20 boys who will make up the club. With the help of club leaders, girls discuss the gender issues they face and a dialogue is created among the students. The club then prepares its first theater production which addresses the gender issues identified and proposes possible solutions to resolve these issues. Family and community members are invited to the performance to sensitize them to girls’ problems at school and at home. After the performance, the Tuseme club creates a plan of action for how they will put into place their solutions. This plan of action is carried out with the help of education practitioners, family and community members. Club members are typically in their 5th year before the BAC and remain active for three years. At the end of the three years, the students train a new class of students in the 5th year to begin the Tuseme process. Through this replication model, Tuseme clubs can continue to reach as many students as possible.
What is your area of work? (Please check as many as apply.)
Children & Youth , At risk youth , Behavioral issues , Boys' development , Child exploitation , Education , Girls' development , Youth development , Youth leadership , Rural , Urban , Health education , Recreation , Reproductive and maternal health , Sexuality , Wellness , Abuse and violence , Child exploitation , Conflict resolution , Gender equity , Vulnerable populations , Women's issues , Intergenerational relations , Women's Issues , Youth leadership.
What impact have you had?
Tuseme clubs are positively changing the behavior and attitude of all participants. In addition to performing better in school, girls are showing an improvement in their self-esteem and in their leadership, social and life skills. Teachers are exhibiting a positive attitudinal change toward girls by encouraging girls’ participation and learning in the classroom. Communities are openly discussing sensitive issues which were once not discussed at all. Progress has been made in reducing sexual harassment at school and in keeping girls enrolled in school in the face of external problems.
To give an example, the Tuseme club at Soum middle school in the rural community of Djilor identified the burden of domestic chores as one factor affecting girls’ academic performance. The club acknowledged that girls were often responsible for performing chores due to the perception that men and boys should not partake in these responsibilities. Consequently, girls at Soum middle school were spending less time on their studies and were suffering academically. The Tuseme club prepared an action plan which sensitized the community to this problem and encouraged other family members to share the burden of household chores. Since the plan was put into place in June 2008, several families have reallocated the distribution of responsibilities in the home so that girls have more time for studies. Through the Tuseme process, students, teachers, parents and community members are shifting their attitudes toward girls’ education. The Tuseme model has created numerous success stories in other schools as well.
Describe the primary problem(s) that your project is addressing.
Many instances of gender discrimination and inequality occur in Senegalese schools, which prevent the successful continuation of girls’ education. In Senegal, early marriage, early pregnancy and female circumcision are common occurrences disrupting girls’ education. In addition girls are frequently subject to sexual harassment from boys and teachers in school. Moreover, girls are often discouraged to excel academically as teachers tend to gender discriminate in the classroom, for example by calling on boys to participate more frequently than on girls. In Senegal social norms strongly discourage girls from speaking out about their problems; therefore when these issues arise, girls’ academic performance may decline or girls may be forced to drop out of school. Tuseme works to empower girls so that they will speak up about the problems they face at home and at school without having to compromise their education.
Describe the steps that your organization is taking to make your project successful.
In order to increase the success of Tuseme clubs, FAWE/Sénégal conducts numerous training workshops on gender issues and the Tuseme approach. Many teachers actually contribute to girls’ poor academic performance by creating negative conditions for girls to succeed, for example sitting girls at the back of the classroom. By conducting teacher trainings, FAWE/Sénégal creates a core of model teachers who fully understand gender issues in education and who can serve as an example to other teachers. FAWE/Sénégal also conducts trainings for the 50 Tuseme club members at each school, 30 girls and 20 boys. By including boys in the Tuseme club, FAWE/Sénégal helps ensure a change in attitude and behavior for all students. At the end of these workshops, participants are given evaluation forms to help FAWE/Sénégal improve future trainings. Additionally, monitoring and evaluation of the clubs is carried out by the club leaders who submit twice yearly reports and by FAWE/Sénégal staff who conduct observation visits.
Impact
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Success in Year 1:
Over the next three years, FAWE/Sénégal hopes to expand its Tuseme clubs from four regions to all fourteen regions in Senegal. To do this FAWE/Sénégal will hold trainings in four new regions to educate teachers and administrators about Tuseme and to get them on board to help reduce the gender gap in education. Next FAWE/Sénégal will need to hold trainings for the students at each individual school so that the Tuseme clubs can begin operating. Clubs will then devise action plans and perform theater sketches as a means of sensitizing their communities to gender issues.
Success in Year 2:
In year two, FAWE/Sénégal will hold teacher and student trainings in three more regions. FAWE/Sénégal will continue to rely on the periodic reports from Tuseme club leaders and its own monitoring and evaluation visits to make sure all existing clubs are operating successfully. Clubs created in year one will continue to discuss issues affecting them, modify plans of actions and continue to perform theater sketches as a means of sensitizing their community members.
Success in Year 3:
By year three, FAWE/Sénégal will install Tuseme clubs in the remaining three regions and will continue to monitor the progress of existing clubs. With the help of FAWE/Sénégal staff, the girls and boys of the Tuseme clubs created in year one will train new classes of students in Tuseme techniques. Using a training of trainers approach, the Tuseme approach is passed on and can continue to help girls’ succeed in school.
Do you have a business plan or strategic plan? (yes/no)
Yes, the international branch of FAWE has a strategic plan which FAWE/Sénégal adheres to.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 1:
More training workshops. In order to establish a Tuseme club at a school, FAWE/Sénégal needs to conduct two training sessions, one for the teachers involved and a second for the students. Both teachers and students need to be properly trained in Tuseme techniques for the program to be effective.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 2:
Strengthening of partnerships. While FAWE/Sénégal operates in all 14 regions of Senegal, its Tuseme clubs presently operate in 4 regions. In order to expand Tuseme clubs to other regions, FAWE/Sénégal will need to build upon its existing partnerships with local education officials, community associations and other non-governmental organizations. These partnerships will help in the creation of new clubs as well as in their success, as a strong network of support can help legitimize the Tuseme club in the eyes of the community.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 3:
More monitoring and evaluation. FAWE/Sénégal requires that each Tuseme club submit twice yearly reports which detail the progress of the clubs. FAWE/Sénégal staff also conducts its own monitoring and evaluation through visits to Tuseme club meetings and theater performances. Using these reports and visits, FAWE/Sénégal would like to establish best practices which can aid in the development of new Tuseme clubs.
Describe the expected results of these actions.
The results expected from the implementation of Tuseme clubs are:
1. The training of teachers and students in the Tuseme approach.
2. Fully operating Tuseme clubs in more regions of Senegal.
3. A visible change in attitude and behavior of girls concerning:
-Involvement in the discussion of their problems and in the search for solutions
-Increased ability to express themselves freely and make decisions
-Understanding of their potential
-Increased participation in school activities
-Improvement of their academic performance
4. A visible change in attitude and behavior of boys concerning their treatment of and respect for girls in and outside of the classroom.
5. A visible change in attitude and behavior of teachers concerning their treatment and encouragement of girls in the classroom.
6. A visible change in attitude and behavior of family and community members concerning their views and actions toward girls’ education.
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
Tuseme clubs were created because of adverse social conditions that prohibit girls from receiving quality education. FAWE/Sénégal has been working for gender equality in education since 1996 and has programs in all 14 regions of Senegal. Through its large network of over 800 volunteers, FAWE/Sénégal staff was regularly informed of incidences where girls were forced to discontinue their education because they had been sexually harassed by a teacher, they had gotten pregnant, their parents had forced them to marry early or had decided to keep them at home to work. FAWE/Sénégal realized that these types of problems were occurring frequently but were rarely being discussed among educators and families. FAWE/Sénégal realized that in order to better achieve gender equality in schools, more must be done to address prevailing social conditions. Tuseme clubs give girls the tools they need to understand and speak out about their problems and allow them to succeed in their education. In the year 2007-2008, FAWE/Sénégal made the decision to drastically expand its Tuseme clubs from 5 to 75 because it felt that these clubs were the best means of achieving gender equality in schools. Over the next few years, FAWE/Sénégal aims to expand these clubs even further.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
The concept of Tuseme was created in 1996 by two professors in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. One of the professors Penina Mlama also served as Executive Director of the international branch of FAWE. The Tuseme project worked to empower girls in secondary schools in Tanzania and, being extremely successful, was quickly expanded to national chapters in FAWE’s network, including Senegal. Professor Mlama recognized the importance of empowering girls to speak out about social issues affecting them in order to effectively bring about gender equality in education. More recently in 2007 and 2008, FAWE/Sénégal expanded its Tuseme clubs from 5 to 75. FAWE/Sénégal currently has 50 clubs in the Saint-Louis region, 10 clubs in the Dakar region, 5 clubs in the Mbour region and 10 clubs in the Fatick region. FAWE/Sénégal aims to expand the clubs to all 14 regions of Senegal.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Trying to secure grants to expand its Tuseme programs, FAWE/Sénégal learned of Changemakers through an internet search. FAWE/Sénégal is pleased to see that Changemakers is focusing on quality education in Africa and is excited to share information about its Tuseme clubs.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
What would prevent your project from being a success?
FAWE/Sénégal considers its Tuseme clubs to be quite successful given the feedback it has received from teachers, students and parents. However, there are two factors which would prevent the continuation of the success that has been thus far achieved. The first is an inability to finance the costs of the Tuseme clubs. The costs of creating new Tuseme clubs are reflected in the training sessions for both teachers and students, theater productions, the carrying out of the action plans and in monitoring and evaluation techniques. All of these steps are critical to achieving Tuseme’s goal of girls’ empowerment and if any step were left out, success of the program would suffer. Tuseme clubs operate in 4 of Senegal’s 14 regions and FAWE/Sénégal is eager to extend the clubs to all regions once it has secured enough funding. The second factor which would affect the success of Tuseme clubs is the presence of community members and parents who are not willing to change their beliefs despite the sensitization efforts of the clubs; however, FAWE/Sénégal does not see this factor as insurmountable because it recognizes that for many people behavior and attitude change takes time and that even having the help of some if not all community members can contribute positively toward gender equality.
Financing source
Yes
If yes, provide organization name.
FAWE/Sénégal, a national chapter of the Forum for African Women Educationalists, works to promote gender equity and equality in education by fostering positive policies, practices and attitudes towards girls’ education.
How long has this organization been operating? (i.e. less than a year; 1-5 years; more than 5 years)
FAWE/Sénégal was registered as a non-governmental organization in Dakar on April 19, 1996. It has been operating for 13 years.
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes, FAWE/Sénégal has a Board of Directors consisting of 8 persons.
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs? (yes/no)
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses? (yes/no)
No
The Story
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government? (yes/no)
yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
FAWE / Sénégal works with different actors in order to further the cause of girls’ education. Because community members are involved in FAWE’s activities, they are more willing to listen to what the girls are saying in Tuseme theater performances and to change their points of view. By working with other NGOs, such as Plan Senegal, FAWE can achieve larger interventions. For example FAWE teamed up with Plan Senegal to create Tuseme clubs at 50 middle schools in the Saint-Louis region of Senegal. By combining our resources and working on behalf of our shared goal to improve girls’ education, the results achieved are stronger than if FAWE acted alone. Finally, by working with the government at local and national levels, FAWE ensures that educational policies reflect a gender balance. Through FAWE/Sénégal’s briefings, Ministry of Education officials acknowledge their awareness of the barriers girls face to achieving their education and are quite receptive to FAWE/Sénégal’s interventions.
How many people will your project serve annually?
1001-10,000
What is the total number of employees and total number of volunteers at your organization?
3 salaried employees and 800+ volunteers
[Explanation of FAWE/Sénégal’s organization:
3 salaried employees (National Coordinator, Technical Assistant, Administrative Assistant)
800+ volunteers including:
President
Vice President
4 Program Managers (Gender and Equality; Development, Communications, External and Internal Relations; Social Issues; Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation)
28 Focal Points spread across 14 regions
778 teachers who serve as club leaders (1 female teacher and 1 male teacher per club x 314 clubs of excellence and 75 Tuseme clubs)
Development intern]
What is your organization's business classification?
Non-profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Have you received funding from any of the following groups? (Please check as many as apply.)
African Development Bank , European Union (Any EU Government) , United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) , USAID (United States) .
