WomenOne conducts research in order to seek out the most marginalized populations of women and girls who lack access to quality education. We then use our research findings to determine what educational services would best serve them.
We believe that truly understanding the factors affecting the women and girls we work with is the key to providing effective programing and creating long-term change. While we have focused our recent research on adolescent, out-of-school mothers, we hope to conduct future research to better serve women and girls who are victims of sexual and gender-based violence, refugees and internally displaced persons, and women and girls with disabilities.
In 2014, WomenOne received a grant from the MasterCard Foundation to conduct a needs assessment on the circumstances of adolescent, out-of-school mothers in Kenya and South Africa. Through this needs assessment, we worked with local organizations to interview: 1) adolescent mothers, 2) parents and community members, 3) teachers and school administrators, 4) local NGOs, and 5) government representatives. We learned about the factors contributing to adolescent pregnancy and school drop out, barriers to school re-entry, perceptions about adolescent mothers, and services available to adolescent, out-of-school mothers, as well as what services are unavailable and they most desired. As a result of our research, we are now pursuing funding to launch a program to provide education and other services to adolescent, out-of-school mothers outside of Nairobi. We are also seeking funds to provide additional services to adolescent, out-of-school mothers who are victims of domestic abuse in Western Kenya.
