Empowerment and Livelihood of Adolescents (ELA)

In Uganda, girls face disproportionate risks that impact their educational and economic opportunities, such as early pregnancy, marriage, and exposure to sexual violence and transactional sex. For example, one in ten girls aged 15-17 in Uganda has had a child or is pregnant [1]. More than one in three (35.3%) girls experience sexual violence, and nearly 11% experience forced or pressured sex before age 18 [2]. Among girls who had sex in childhood, 14.5% had ever participated in transactional sex (sex in exchange for money, favors, or goods), a finding that is associated with increased HIV risk behaviors, self-harm, and attitudes supportive of spousal violence [3].

BRAC established the Empowerment and Livelihood of Adolescents (ELA) program to strengthen girls’ and young women's life skills, as well as their educational and economic opportunities. The program aims to increase their control over their own bodies,  by reducing experiences of unwanted sex, early pregnancy, and marriage.

ELA starts with “safe spaces” close to the home, where teens can discuss problems with their peers in small groups and build their social networks, away from the pressures of family and male-centered communities. The program seeks to offer hundreds of thousands of adolescent girls the opportunity for a better life by empowering girls socially and economically, with life-skills, livelihood training, vocational training and startup kits to start small-scale businesses.  

ELA in Africa works independently from the public education system, but works closely with the national ministries of youth and gender. It targets girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, aged between 10-22, particularly those at risk of dropping out of school, with the majority being out of school. For younger girls, the emphasis is on social skills development and creating a savings mentality, but by their mid-teens – the exact age differs from context to context – there is a demand among adolescent girls for livelihood training, financial literacy and sometimes microloans.

Their adolescent clubs also serve as a social space for girls and provide relevant learning materials and support recreational activities such as reading, dancing, and indoor and outdoor games. 

These clubs deliver a dual-focus curriculum:

• Life skills training: Topics include reproductive health, gender equality, and rights awareness, aiming to boost confidence and reduce the risk of sexual exploitation.
• Livelihood skills training: Vocational training, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship education equip participants with tools to achieve economic independence.

Community engagement ensures local buy-in, and trained mentors lead the clubs, fostering a supportive environment.

ELA has positively transformed participants' lives by enhancing their knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy [5, 6]. Participants learn critical life skills through the program, including:

• Psycho-social skills: Confidence, self-esteem, leadership, negotiation, communication, and conflict resolution skills, entrepreneurial mindset, self-worth, personal autonomy to take care of themselves
• Life skills: Financial literacy, knowledge of rights, how to make decisions, avoiding early pregnancy and marriage, staying in school

The largest youth empowerment platform in Uganda

Outcomes in Sierra Leone

The increase in young women’s wages was valued at more than the total cost of participation ($17.90 a girl) [5].

In Sierra Leone, women frequently face gender-based violence and exploitation, experiencing physical, sexual, or emotional abuse by a husband or partner. Sierra Leone is also one of the least equal countries in the UNDP Gender Equality index and has the highest maternal mortality rate of any country. Even among those not married, early pregnancy is a significant risk factor. 

West Africa’s 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic further exacerbated girls’ risk of pregnancy, sexual abuse, and school dropout. About half of all cases during the epidemic came from Sierra Leone, and the country closed all primary and secondary schools, both reducing girls’ education and increasing their exposure to older men.

Countering the school-to-work transition for young women in high Ebola-disrupted villages, these adolescent clubs operated in 10 communities, mentoring 300 girls between the ages 10-22. This intervention bundled health education, vocational skills training, and micro-credit. While girls experienced higher teen pregnancy and lower school attendance post-Ebola, ELA clubs mitigated many of these negative effects of epidemic-spurred school closures. Girls above 17 benefited from vocational training and at 18 they were offered microfinance loans to capitalize on acquired skills. 

In partnership with IPA, the World Bank and UNICEF, BRAC implemented the ELA programme in Sierra Leone from 2014 to 2016. It served 4,800 in- and out-ofschool girls 12 to 25 through 160 ELA clubs in Port Loko, Kambia, Moyamba, and Pujehun.