Geared for Success will contribute to making education a reality for forcibly displaced children and youth in South Sudan and Uganda, especially young women and girls. Over five years, the project will provide technical and financial support to local organizations working with refugees and internally displaced people.

Since many forcibly displaced adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 29 don't get the same educational opportunities as boys and young men do, Geared for Success especially supports equitable and inclusive learning to transform gender relations. The project addresses harmful social norms, practices and stereotypes to support young women and adolescent girls living as refugees and internally displaced people to take the lead in shaping their lives and their communities.

Geared for Success is implemented by an innovative partnership between Oxfam Canada and War Child Canada and six community organizations supporting refugees and internally displaced people in South Sudan and Uganda.

What We Aim to Achieve

• Through the Geared for Success project, about 37,400 refugees, IDPs and host community children and youth will be reached and will directly benefit from access to education. Out of that number, 22,600 females (61%) will be reached.
• We will strengthen the capacity and performance of 6 CBOs in Uganda and South Sudan on gender responsive education. The CBOs will go through Oxfam led capacity strengthening workshops and identify capacity domains critical to building strong, gender-just organizations.
• Working very closely with the local CBOs, we will enhance their performance in gender-responsive education, including the adoption and implementation of relevant policies.
• We will organize training sessions with males in CBOs to enable the adoption of organizational policies and practices that promote women's leadership. The workshops will engage 80 male staff in South Sudan and Uganda on positive masculinities.
• We will train 75 women in CBOs on effective leadership, human rights, self-confidence, conflict management & peacebuilding, & good environmental stewardship.
• We will conduct peace and conflict analyses as well as participatory studies on barriers to women's leadership within CBOs in South Sudan and Uganda to enhance the ability of women to play leadership roles in CBOs working in the education sector.
• We will train about 105 influencers in both South Sudan and Uganda to advocate for CBOs working in gender-responsive education in order to improve social attitudes by host communities, refugees, IDPs, and key government stakeholders.
• We will train about 226 refugees, IDPs and host communities' members on community-led peacebuilding, conflict management, mediation and dispute resolution, and risk reduction and response.
• We will work on strengthening the support among Canadians (including diaspora) for gender responsive quality education initiatives targeting refugee and IDP children, especially girls. We will reach approximately 150,000 people in Canada.

What We Have Done So Far

• Six Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in Uganda and South Sudan completed capacity assessments and developed tailored action plans, receiving technical assistance, training, and follow-up support.
• Partners received training on safeguarding, gender-responsive budgeting, HR systems, gender justice, child protection, and inclusive leadership, including workshops challenging gender stereotypes and promoting positive masculinities.
• Oxfam supported three CBOs in Uganda to adapt physical spaces with beds, sanitary supplies, and private areas, improving staff wellbeing and effectiveness, particularly for women.
• Participatory research in Uganda and South Sudan identified barriers to women's leadership and examined social norms affecting education for refugees and displaced populations, informing capacity-building, advocacy, and program design.
• Direct multi-year funding enabled CBOs to strengthen gender-responsive education initiatives and better address the needs of schools and learners, particularly girls and learners with disabilities.
• Strategic engagement with key influencers and "champions" helped promote sustainable, gender-responsive practices within CBOs and local communities.
• Awareness-raising materials and events, including the Festival of Hope concert in Toronto, highlighted the importance of refugee education and gender equality in education.
• Across the project, 88 CBO staff (43 male, 45 female) participated in gender equality and leadership sessions, with sensitization sessions held for men and women to promote women's leadership and gender-equitable practices.
• Peace and conflict analyses conducted in South Sudan (and ongoing in Uganda) are informing training programs in peacebuilding, conflict management, mediation, dispute resolution, and risk reduction.