“I am happy to have been part of this landmark training,” says Twambilile Kayuni, 28, Gender Programme Coordinator for Girls Empowerment Network (GENET). “It not only made me a trainer, but it also transformed me as a person.”
“At first, I was eager to learn more about the Spotlight Initiative, like how to implement the activities, but when the training started it was beautiful to discover that not only were we to learn about the Safe Space Model, but that we would become trainers of trainers.”
Led by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, the Safe Space Model training forms part of activities under the Spotlight Initiative being implemented by the United Nations, the Government of Malawi, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and other partners, with support from the European Union (EU). The model aims to increase the capacity of mentors on safe space mentoring, for greater uptake of sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services.
For the training, a safe space mentorship manual was developed to guide mentors in empowering adolescent girls and young women to exercise their sexual and reproductive health and rights, and to prevent gender-based violence, including challenging harmful practices in communities.
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