Too often, adolescents and their parents are unequipped to deal with the rapid transformation of adolescence β a critical period when young people navigate the physical and emotional changes of puberty while they assume adult roles and responsibilities. Very young adolescence years is an opportune time to provide information and build practical skills before children become sexually active and internalize gender roles. For VYAs, a suite of materials provides information and prompts discussion about puberty, gender equality, healthy relationships, violence, and other related themes during weekly club sessions.
Other materials for teachers, health workers, and community members complement the core toolkit materials. Program activities will continue for nine months. VYAs have welcomed the new program with excitement. Implementing a program with this young age group can be challenging. Using a variety of research methods will allow us to document the implementation process, note successes and opportunities for improvement, and make changes along the way. Earlier this year, we piloted the intervention in 40 schools to gather rapid feedback on preparation and rollout of program activities.
We assessed the pilot through monitoring data, a qualitative evaluation with focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, and a series of learning meetings that brought together stakeholders to identify lessons learned, successes and, recommendations for adjustments. Regular supervision visits offer another chance for learning. Our recent visits to out-of-school clubs revealed additional insights:.
Growing up Great! Sessions will continue through the end of the academic year, along with parent, school and community activities. Stay tuned for baseline findings in ! Related Resources and Articles Blog.
