Quarterly Report: October 1 – December 31, 2020 MALI GIRLS LEADERSHIP AND EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION (GLEE)

The project is implemented by Winrock International under Contract No. 72068818C00001, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project's objective is to decrease key barriers to quality education for adolescent girls, improve their safety in schools and communities, and increase their knowledge and adoption of positive health behaviors. The project focuses on three main objectives. Objective 1 aims to decrease key barriers to quality education for adolescent girls. Sub-result 1.1 seeks to increase learning support opportunities for girls, including training of Accelerated Schooling Center (ASC) facilitators, distribution of teaching and learning materials (TLM) kits, and monitoring of ASC learners transferred to formal schools. Sub-result 1.2 aims to make teaching more responsive and relevant for adolescent girls through teachers' professional development training and mentorship programs. Sub-result 1.3 focuses on community and family support for girls' education, including community mobilization, school enrollment campaigns, and back-to-school nights. Objective 2 aims to improve the safety of adolescent girls in schools and communities. Sub-result 2.1 seeks to adopt strategies and policies to safeguard adolescent girls in schools and communities, including the implementation of a code of conduct and training of adolescent girls and boys to monitor its implementation. Sub-result 2.2 focuses on establishing effective reporting and referral mechanisms for school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV). Sub-result 2.3 aims to improve perceptions of safety in communities and schools through celebration of the 16 days of activism to end violence against women. Objective 3 aims to increase knowledge and adoption of positive health behaviors among adolescent girls. Sub-result 3.1 seeks to promote positive health behaviors among adolescent girls, including revitalizing communication activities at the community level and promoting menstrual hygiene in schools and communities. Sub-result 3.2 focuses on increasing adolescent girls' knowledge of and access to health services, including youth-friendliness certification of health centers. Sub-result 3.3 aims to reduce health barriers to education, including training on menstrual pad production and promotion of menstrual hygiene in schools and communities. The project also focuses on monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning, including project mid-term research, tracking of transferred ASC learners, and overall project monitoring. The project has faced several challenges, including disruption in the last two school years, late start of the 2020-2021 school year, VAT exemption, and COVID-19. The project has implemented several cross-cutting solutions, including gender, youth, science, technology, innovations, and research (STIR), environmental compliance/climate risk management, private sector engagement/private public partnership, sustainability/local capacity development, and risk management and security. The project has implemented several planned activities and events for the next quarter, including collaboration, learning, adapting, and monitoring, evaluation, quality assurance, and reporting. The project aims to collaborate with USAID and other partners, conduct community entry, and implement objective 1, sub-result 1.1, sub-result 1.2, and sub-result 1.3.