Female Empowerment.
For everything we do, we believe that life is for the braves and a bit crazy.
Our Objetive.
In São Tomé, it’s easy to be outcast of extracurricular activities or projects going on in the communities if you are a woman, since you are expected to take care of the domestic chores, of the children and have job. All of these responsabilities and society’s expectations leave few time for women to invest in themselves, in their education and capacitation.
That is why we partnered with project Sanguê (which means lady in São Tomé’s creoule) so that we could reach more people with our projects within the communities of Neves and Agripalma.
But what is Sanguê?
Sanguê is a project that aims to empower women through informal education with curriculum that is adapted to our trainees and to their local community. So each community has a different curriculum but it always addresses topics that shape women’s emancipation here in São Tomé, and that prepare them for getting into superior education and the job market. And we do all of this through partnerships with local organizations that can best understand how to address these topics and have a context-specific approach. The curriculum includes themes like:
- Self-knowledge and self-confidence.
It is crucial for women to be aware of their strengths and capacities, but also of what they have to improve about themselves, so they can prosper as a person and future professional.
- Communication skills with Threater Group Surpresa da Madrugada.
We work these capabilities with professionals
in the area and with the goal of our trainees becoming more confident in order
to speak to a wider audience, and to improve their communication.
- Women’s rights
In a job setting and personal relationships with NGO Associação São Tomense das Mulheres Juristas. This is crucial for our trainees to be able to protect themselves from situations where they can be taken advantage of, either in personal or professional life.
- Menstrual and reproductive health and contraceptive methods
with Project Sêbe Non and nurse Nailde It is very important for women to know how their bodies work and care for their health, especially in places where this is still a taboo, like in São Tomé. We also do sessions on contraceptive methods that are available in São Tomé, since teenage pregnancy is still a big obstacle for women’s emancipation in São Tomé.
- How to apply for university and for scholarschips with Project Grupo Jovens para Jovens.
This is very important as, sometimes, girls are discouraged from applying to college and scholarschips due to the confusion of bureaucracy and the lengthy process, given they also have the weight of domestic chores.
- Sexual Abuse with NGO SOS Mulher.
Unfortunately, this is still a very common crime in São Tomé and also a taboo. Therefore, it is crucial for trainees to know what is sexual abuse and what they can do about it, in case they were victims of it.
- Entrepreneurship and business management skills.
In a country like São Tomé where setting up your business is relatively free of bureaucracies comparing to other countries, and can take people out of poverty, we think it is important to talk about how to create a business for our trainees that want to develop their businesses. Also, given the fact that most of the Sanguê’s volunteers have an academic background in Business Management, we are able to provide the trainees with good business practices.
- Professional Goals and how to achieve them with NGO Mama Catxina
We do both group and individual sessions on how to achieve the trainee’s professional goals and what are the pratical steps to take in order to achieve those goals.
SGD’s Attained.
The activities developed by the Sanguê project are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations resolution Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in the following SGG’s: That is why we partnered with project Sanguê (which means lady in São Tomé’s creoule) so that we could reach more people with our projects within the communities of Neves and Agripalma.
-Motivating school permanence and the
transition to higher education;
-Demystifying taboos that address various topics, with special attention to the
issue of early pregnancy;
-Encouraging the search for lasting work and the exercise of professional tasks consistent with their expectations, in a realistic and personalized way
- Promoting discussion and clarification of issues related to family planning and menstrual and reproductive education with the presence of nurse Nailde and the organization Mina Muala Non
- Providing the trainees (and their communities) with contacts to partner organizations that deal with health issues
-Promoting informal trainings on topics that are not covered in the school curriculum, in order to empower and educate our trainees through a holistic approach focused on the problems and needs of individuals and also of the São Tomé’s society, with a strong participation of local organizations.
-By providing educational opportunities that help our graduates and their communities to bridge the gaps (as seen by our graduates) in formal education and training, we are able to help our graduates and their communities to reach their full potential.
- Sanguê’s ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality in São Tomé’s society
- By implementing sessions that address this theme, for example the session dedicated to women's rights
- By providing contextually relevant information, through local organizations like Mama Catxina that address the theme of gender inequality by empowering and uniting São Tomean women
- Promoting sessions on women's rights, namely the working rights of São Tomean women with the Associação São Tomense das Mulheres Juristas;
- Encouraging the completion of academic training and transition to higher education, with the goal of finding the best and most suitable job possible.
- Through the development of personal skills, such as proactivity, critical thinking
- Providing tools for the professional development of the trainees, such as the development of business model canvas for trainees who want to develop their own business
- The project's primary objective is the reduction of inequalities, essentially gender inequalities, through informal capacity building and empowerment of the female trainees
- Fundação Filhos de STP, and therefore Sanguê, works in areas with less access to similar projects, in order to reduce inequalities in terms of access to information
- Through the development of communicational, interpersonal, professional and personal skills with informal sessions that addresses issues considered crucial (and with the validation of local projects and associations) for the empowerment of a devalued group in society, women
- One of the long-term objectives of Sanguê is that the trainees of the pilot project continue with the sessions and even create meetings to discuss important themes of their communities, not only to foster associativism, but also to give sustainability to the project and create solutions to local problems
- Addressing the issue of menstrual education in partnership with Mina Muala Nón, who at the end of the session offers the trainees a reusable sanitary pad. In addition, she alerts to its positive impact on the environment and the possibility of creating their own business with the manufacture of these reusable pads.
- Through Sanguê’s partnership with Associação São Tomense das Mulheres Juristas , we promote knowledge of their rights, how to act in case of abuse of these rights, and we show institutions that may work as solutions, should our trainees need legal support.
The basis of the Sanguê project is collaboration with local projects and associations. With the ultimate goal of making a project as relevant as possible in terms of contextual needs, this collaboration also brings together associations with common goals and gives them the possibility to work in new communities.
Virtual visit of our facilities
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