A GIRL CAN’T WALK INTO A WORKSHOP ALONE.
Sometimes the first person she needs to convince is not the trainer, It is the person at home; A parent, A spouse, A guardian, A community leader, A religious or cultural leader.
At Bududa, TRIDI held community information sessions and engaged gatekeepers around young women’s participation in TVET. The report records 16 community stakeholder information sessions and 10 gatekeeper engagement sessions. The conversations were practical, People asked about safety. Who pays? Who looks after household responsibilities? What happens when a young woman spends time away from home? Will the skill really lead to income?
These are not obstacles to dismiss. They are questions that must be answered if participation is to last. The TRIDI response field team used dialogue rather than assumption.
Gatekeepers were engaged around;
- safeguarding;
- economic returns from skills
- household responsibilities
- scheduling
- community involvement
- continued support for enrolled young women.
Gatekeeper engagement should run alongside youth mobilisation rather than after it.
