Population Council Research that makes a difference

Biruh Tesfa (meaning “Bright Future” in Amharic) is a project that assists out-of-school girls in the urban slums of Ethiopia by creating safe spaces where they can meet friends, build support networks with other girls, and form relationships with supportive adults (watch a video about this innovative program).

Social mobilization of the most marginalized urban girls

Trained female mentors recruit girls by going house-to-house to find eligible out-of-school girls aged 7–24. The house-to-house visit allows mentors to contact girls who may otherwise be missed, such as child domestic workers who are largely confined to the home. In-home contact also allows mentors to negotiate girls' participation with gatekeepers such as employers of domestic servants, and to serve as advocates for girls if they encounter future problems.

Once the girls are in groups, the project provides basic literacy, life skills, financial literacy and savings, and HIV/reproductive health education through girls' clubs led by adult female mentors. Girls' clubs are held in meeting spaces donated by the kebele (local administration). Meeting times are varied to accommodate the schedules of working girls.

Girls who enroll in Biruh Tesfa are from very disadvantaged backgrounds:

• Nearly half have lost at least one parent;
• One in 7 have lost both parents
• One-third are engaged in child domestic work
• One-third are daily manual laborers
• Nearly 1,000 participants are girls with disabilities
  
  

Building a bridge to basic health care

Given the dire poverty of most Biruh Tesfa participants, even basic health care is out of their reach. Mentors provide the girls with vouchers for subsidized or free medical and HIV services at participating clinics. Mentors often accompany girls who are nervous about going to clinics alone. In addition, girls are provided with supplies to manage their menstruation and are given underwear, because many are so poor they lack even the basic necessities.

Significant reach nationwide

Over 55,000 out-of-school girls have participated in Biruh Tesfa in the poorest areas of 17 cities in Ethiopia, including the capital, Addis Ababa.

A recent evaluation of the program found that girls in the Biruh Tesfa project sites were more than twice as likely to report having social support compared to girls in a comparison area where Biruh Tesfa was not implemented. They were also twice as likely to score well on HIV knowledge questions, to know where to obtain voluntary counseling and testing, and to want to be tested. 

Biruh Tesfa has been profiled as a best practice in several publications. The program has been featured on American Idol’s "Idol Gives Back" and has been visited by members of the TODAY show, US Congress, and the European Parliament, among others.

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Offsite link

• American Idol winner David Cook visits Biruh Tesfa
  
  

Related projects

• HIV Prevention for Vulnerable Adolescent Girls
• Addis Birhan: Fostering Husbands’ Involvement and Support in Amhara Region, Ethiopia