This project focuses on female teens aged 16 to 21 due to the high prevalence of mental health issues, school dropout rates, and the risk of unintended pregnancies among young girls in Gatsibo and Ngoma districts through community outreach in collaboration with local leaders, school administrations, and NGOs working with vulnerable youth in these districts.
Organization of Women in Sports (2025)
Rwanda
2025-2027
In brief
The Organization of Women in Sports (AKWOS) strongly believes that sports is a powerful tool to help tackling negative cultural norms that still hinder girls to reach their full potential.
The SOL Foundation and AKWOS continue their co-operation with the main focus to reduce the danger of unwanted pregnancies by including sport activities as a tool to raise awareness on prevention and sensitisation. The new project aims to address the critical mental health challenges and socio-economic vulnerabilities faced by young girls in Gatsibo and Ngoma districts.
Problem to be tackled
Currently, 25% of Rwandan citizens struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and one in six people suffer from depression; according to the Rwanda Mental Health Survey (RMHS) in 2023, mental issues conditions are significantly observed in youth aged 14 up to 25 and this increased from 10.2% to almost 20% within only one year.
This is correlated to the critical mental health issues in Gatsibo and Ngoma districts where young girls face a high risk of mental health challenges, compounded by their vulnerability to unintended pregnancies and risky behaviours; lack of parental support, trauma from gender-based violence or sexual harassment, and poor economic conditions also contribute to their unstable mental health.
Local partner
The project aims to address these issues through mental health awareness, trauma healing through arts and sports at grassroot level and providing alternative income generating skills to promote self-esteem and reduce stigma. This project builds on a previous initiative by AKWOS which focused on using sports as a tool to address Sports: A powerful tool for preventing and responding to teenage pregnancies in Gatsibo and Ngoma Districts.
Beneficiaries
SOL’s contribution
With a continued support from The SOL Foundation, AKWOS is going to further develop, implement and improve the programme and specifically add new elements to the initiative reducing the danger of unwanted pregnancies as well as addressing the critical mental health challenges and socio-economic vulnerabilities of young females by promoting sport activities as a tool to raise awareness on prevention and sensitisation.
Project partner
Organization of Women in Sports (AKWOS) is based in Rwanda; its mission is to effectively empower girls and women from Rwanda, through sports and education, as well as to contribute towards their social-economic empowerment hence improving their wellbeing and self-esteem. Its vision is to achieve a society where all forms of discrimination based on gender have been eradicated, where women participate fully in political and economic decision-making and conflict resolution and where women’s rights are respected.
Activities undertaken by AKWOS are “Peace Makers Project”, “Strengthening the role of young women in preventing and resolving conflict and peacebuilding through sports” and “Prevention of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections among young people through sport and leisure in the city of Kigali”.
