2. With support from the World Bank’s Adolescent Girls Initiative, BRAC has
established 100 adolescent girls’ clubs in four states in South Sudan,
reaching 3,000 girls. Pictured is the Hai-Kugi Club in Juba.
3. Club members are provided with life skills training, livelihood training, and
financial literacy help. Savings and credit services are also being provided to
many of the girls.
4. The clubs also provide members with a
safe space to gather, learn, and share.
5. When Agnes John joined Hai-Kugi
Club in 2010, her husband’s shop
had been robbed; eventually he
started drinking and his business
collapsed. Agnes was jobless and
worried about her children.
With a business loan from BRAC,
she started buying and selling oil
and bread, and then moved to
charcoal which was very
successful.
Now she is also buying flour and
selling pancakes in the mornings.
The money from her businesses
has helped send her children to
school and she has also returned
to school.
6. Mary Kiden is the adolescent
leader at High Coast Club in Juba.
Each month she attends two days
of training where she learns
important skills that she will then
teach to the members of her club.
The training covers such topics as
early pregnancy, HIV/AIDS,
financial literacy, and negotiation
skills.
Many of the girls at High Coast
club participated in a training
course in goat rearing. Mary was
given two goats after completing
training. She now has six goats
and looks forward to further
expanding her herd.
7. Irene, 21, is from Nabari, Juba. In
the AGI, she has been studying
literacy, agriculture, baking and
hospitality.
She has a small business selling
cakes. Irene says she is glad the
project has taught her how to be
welcoming to customers.
8. Joyce, 22, is from Kolong, Juba.
She is an Adolescent Leader in her
AGI club. Before joining in 2010,
her children were not in school.
Through the program she has
started her own tailoring
business. She now sells fashion
scarves and pants for children.
With the money from her
business she says she is able to
send her kids to school.
9. Rose Noel, 26, is from Gudele,
Juba. She says her favorite part of
the AGI program has been
learning about HIV/AIDS, family
planning and early marriage
through the life skills training.
Through BRAC, Rose Noel has
received two loans that she has
used to gradually expand her
business. She started by selling
charcoal, and then expanded to
biscuits and eventually peas and
rice.
10. Elizabeth, 25, has four kids and her
husband lives far away and does
not support her family. She took a
loan from BRAC before joining the
AGI in order to start a business
buying and selling sugar. She used
some of the money to re-pay her
loan and the rest she used to send
her kids to school.
She says she is especially grateful
for the life skills training—learning
about human rights and HIV and
so many things, she says, has
really changed her life.