Solidarity for Her Education and Empowerment Organisation (SHEEO)

Solidarity for Her Education and Empowerment Organisation (SHEEO), formerly known as AHIRD – Awakening Horn for Inclusive Rural Development, was founded in 2020 by a group of five young Tanzanians who experienced hardship and injustice while growing up and decided to join hands to fight harmful social-cultural practices, beliefs and traditions that violate the rights of women, girls and children.

Based in Magu district in the Mwanza region of Tanzania, SHEEO promotes gender equality and the participation of women and girls in the socio-economic development of the rural communities they serve.

On behalf of our organisation and the communities we serve, we are so much thankful for your valuable support and surely it has helped changing lives of the impoverished adolescents; girls and boys we are helping in Magu district, Mwanza region in Tanzania.

 

– William I. Johnson, SHEEO NGO Secretary

The power of a girl or a woman is within her, but sometimes it’s locked by the circumstances.

If we want to make the world better, we must commit to investing in girls’ education and women’s empowerment. When you see a girl or a woman whose power has been unlocked, she shines”.

– Suzan A. Wezza, SHEEO’s Board Chairperson.

SHEEO implements programs to support education and girls’ empowerment, including through sponsorship of school fees for the neediest children, menstrual hygiene support and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) education, as well as vocational skills and gender equality advocacy trainings.

• SHEEO also provides advocacy training and mentorship to men and boys to help them take the lead in challenging toxic masculinity and patriarchal systems in their rural communities.
• The training also encourages and prepares them to engage in equitable parenting duties at the family and community levels.

Here is a big 2024 highlight:

2,400 rural adolescent girls and boys from underserved communities were empowered with knowledge on sexual and reproductive health and rights in four public secondary schools through the “Her Right to Decide for Her Future” (HRDF) Project, funded by Population Connection (USA).

The HRDF Project inspired me to dream big and imagine a brighter future. I have enjoyed participating in various project activities, which have positively empowered me to navigate life’s challenges and manage my emotions as a girl living in a poor, patriarchal community where women and girls are often undervalued.

– Justina Willbard | SRHR peer advocate at Lumve Secondary School

Justina adds that she’s growing in confidence and developing leadership skills that she will use in the future “to help other girls in my community defend their right to decide for their own bodies, lives, and futures”.