For women and girls in pastoral communities of Ethiopia, being marginalized on account of both their gender and as pastoralists pose a very dire situation. Since 2020–2021, HRF has been making every effort to promote girls’ education in the pastoral community of South and West Omo Zones, including hosting advocacy conferences, providing pastoral schoolgirls with tutorial classes, reusable sanitary pads, supplemental books, and desktop computers for lab usage.
Along with offering various forms of in-kind support, HRF contends that all stakeholders associated with education in pastoral areas should collaborate to better understand the situation of pastoral communities in relation to their beliefs and norms. This will help to inform a better solution for the inclusion of girls in the provision of education.
To this end, HRF held a stakeholder awareness consultation session on February 9–10, 2023, bringing together 60 participants from the education sectors of Turmi City Administration, Hamer, and Bena Tsemay Woredas. The consultation forum which aimed to help enhance the participation and effectiveness of women in education was attended by senior officials of the education sector of Turmi city administration, community elders, and administrators of the two Woredas.
It was noted that the stakeholder’s discussion forum will help HRF in successfully implementing the projects being undertaken to improve girls’ education in these pastoral areas.
Hailemariam & Roman Foundation
February 2023, South Omo Zone