Project GROW

Project GROW is aimed at growing and strengthening the capacity of five NGOs across Europe (UK and Italy) and Africa (Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa) working to empower young women through the sharing of best practice between organisations. Launched in 2019, this innovative project will empower 1000 young women from disadvantaged backgrounds living in the UK, Italy, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, and train 80 youth workers who support them.

The project addresses issues of gender equality and empowerment in Europe and Africa. In Europe, young women are overall more educated than their male counterparts, however, they have less chances to get jobs, more caring responsibilities and are less likely to be elected at every level of government. In the African countries the project is active in, we are working with women who suffer from inequality in social norms, legal rights, political experience, and the world of work. This shows through lower education attainment, fewer opportunities to gain the skills sought by employers, reduced social capital and access to employment and fewer opportunities to progress. These issues will be addressed through youth work for young women.

Youth work has little recognition in Sub Saharan Africa and little government support. Project GROW seeks to improve the quality and recognition of youth work, non-formal learning and volunteering in the region and enhance their synergies and complementarities with the labour market and society. Project GROW fosters cooperation and exchanges in the field of youth work between Europe and Sub Saharan Africa, in order to increase the capacity of NGOs in Sub Saharan Africa and advocate for youth work as an integral part of development.