Girls Circles

Girls Circles centre on the collective liberation of girls in Sierra Leone through a programme that accompanies girls on their journey to exercise their power, access spaces of solidarity and claim their rights to critical assets.

Karo Kura Girls Circles logo

Currently supporting 15,000 girls and 700 mentors across 6 districts, the initiative is held by Purposeful in partnership with locally rooted organisations. Girls Circles use girl-only spaces, radio and girl-led collective advocacy campaigns to catalyst transformational change in girls lives.

The girls embark on a journey to develop the tools to analyse the situation of their lives, start to ask why they face specific challenges, and imagine a new reality for themselves. As they go through the programme, they develop a sense of solidarity as they nurture relationships with other girls. They know their rights, the laws and institutions that exist to protect and uphold those rights. They believe in themselves and in their ability to act together to create change. They speak up for themselves, individually and collectively.

This process takes place within a girls only space, facilitated by young women mentors, underpinned by a research based, best-in-class curriculum designed specifically for marginalised girls in Sierra Leone.

Read our publication on the State of Out-of-School Girls in Sierra Leone

Read ‘Girls Take Action’ – Tales of sisterhood: How mentors are collectivising with girls in their communities in Sierra Leone

A Mentor’s Manifesto for Change