By Annie Vanderboom

​SERniña envisions a world where all girls not only recognize the unique and valuable contributions they're capable of making, but are active agents of change in society and in their own lives.

In other words, SERniña works toward a version of society in which girls have the same types of choices boys do — to decide what paths they'll take and how they’ll contribute to their families, communities, and country. To decide for themselves how they'll make the world a better place.

SERniña has set this goal for two reasons: First, it's the right thing to do. Working from a philosophy grounded in the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, SERniña believes wholeheartedly in the "dignity and worth of the human person, and in the equal rights of men and women and [has] determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom."[1]

Second, SERniña recognizes that supporting progress and equality for girls and women isn't only a moral or ethical question; it's a practical one. Research and real-world analyses have shown over and over that when women do better, everyone does better. Investing in girls and women isn't a metaphor. It's a proven, measurable strategy to improve the well-being and livelihoods of people everywhere.

​When women and girls have equal access to education and economic resources, change happens on two levels. On the 'micro' level, individual people live longer, earn more, and have higher standards of living:

​The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) called its 2015 report "the most comprehensive mapping of gender equality to date." [8] The report didn't just put forth remarkable economic projections. It also made a profound — if not surprising — conclusion: Economic equality for women is not possible without equality in society and in attitudes and beliefs about women's roles and abilities.
 
The link is clear. MGI found that "virtually no countries with high gender equality in society [have] low gender equality in work." In other words, when countries develop gender parity in society, they can expect to see the associated economic rewards. MGI therefore identified multiple types of interventions that can build economically and socially gender-equal societies. That's where SERniña and organizations like it come in.

SERniña's diverse workshop programs build exactly the types of skills that MGI recommends, including:

Advocacy and shaping attitudes. MGI states that "acting on this front is a priority through, for instance, programs to engage individuals and communities in dialogues; the promotion of role models, support, and peer groups for women…." SERniña was built around these goals. Its girls' programs devote several modules to helping young women identify their own voices, goals, and paths, while the boys' program helps participants develop new attitudes to hear, accept, and dialogue with girls.

 ​Aracely was in grade six when her parents told her that she wouldn’t be able to go to school anymore. They would continue to pay for her brothers’ educations, however in the remote, isolated community of El Hato, the belief that women and girls belong in the home was widely accepted. Her role was no longer as a student, rather to become someone’s wife and start a family. 
 
Even though this attitude towards girls is common where Aracely lives, she was still devastated at the idea of dropping out of school. However, she had seen this happen around her for her entire life. The traditions that come alongside gender roles run deep in her village. Girls and women’s abilities to thrive are quashed by dominant machismo perspectives. Why would things be any different for her? Aracely’s dreams of continuing her education began to fade, and she prepared herself to leave school.
 
Until one day, as part of their class curriculum, Aracely took part in a SERniña workshop. For the first time in her life, she was hearing messages of female motivation and empowerment. She was learning that she had the ability to change her life on her own, and began to learn skills such as budgeting, and goal-setting to make a future more attainable.  ​​Aracely found the sexual and reproductive health workshops especially helpful because:

It didn’t take long for Maricela (Aracely’s SERniña facilitator) to see her potential, and start working with her one-on-one. Maricela worked very hard to keep Aracely in school to study her core classes, and continue with the SERniña program. After just over a year with SERniña she truly embodied a strong, confident, self-advocating REALgirl. So, when she showed up at the SERniña office, resume in hand, confidently advocating for why she thinks she would be a good addition to the SERniña team as an office assistant, it was an offer impossible to refuse. She explained that she wanted a part time job with SERniña to be able to pay her school fees as her parents would not; she did not want to clean homes for less than minimum wage like her sisters and cousins; and most importantly because “SERniña transformed her and she would not be here if it weren’t for SERniña’s messages and support. It would be her dream to contribute in any way to the program.”

Though it was not easy, Aracely persisted and finished the 2016 school year and is set to also complete the school year in 2017.

Aracely is now working as a SERniña intern once a week earning enough money to save for continued education. Furthermore, she continues to build her leadership skills, as an Apprentice Facilitator with one of Maricela’s groups, and as a participant of the SERlideresa workshop.
 
With SERniña’s support, Aracely has already opened a bank account to save her earnings for next year as she hopes to go to trades school. ​

Despite advancement for women’s rights in Guatemala, there remains a harsh obstacle facing the success and empowerment of young girls in Guatemala:  teen pregnancy and the poverty that it perpetuates.

In Guatemala, teen pregnancy is at epidemic levels:

• Guatemala has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in Latin America.
• 50% of Guatemalan girls will have a child before the age of 20, and 20% or more of Guatemalan girls will have 2 children before the age of 18.
• In Guatemala in 2014, roughly 71,000 girls under the age of 19 became pregnant, from that percentage 5,119 were girls under the age 14.
• Less than 40% of sexually active women aged 15–19 use a contraceptive method.

Poverty is associated with large family sizes, with the poorest countries facing the highest population growth rates. With more children, families living in poverty often cannot provide for their children’s basic needs. Children then go hungry and do not attend school.
 
If a family has fewer children, and more years between each child, the more they will invest in each child’s food, health and education. When couples choose to practice ‘family planning’ by applying safe sexual and reproductive health practices, they ensure that each of their children has a better chance at success. This allows their children to create better lives for themselves, get a better education, and seek better employment. Thus they are able to advance the financial situations for their family, and generation by generation, finally break the cycle of poverty.

​Every day, about 1,000 women die of complications from pregnancy or childbirth globally. Nearly all of these deaths are preventable. And for every woman who dies, 20 to 30 others suffer lasting health problems, many of which can be debilitating. In fact, in 2004, unsafe sex was the second largest cause of lost years of healthy life, or burden of disease globally, particularly in less developed countries. 

The direct benefits of meeting the need for contraception and for maternal and newborn healthcare include:

• Two-thirds fewer unintended pregnancies
• 70 percent reduction in maternal deaths 
• 44 percent decrease in the death of newborn babies
• Unsafe abortions would decline by 73 per cent (from 20 million to 5.5 million (assuming no change in abortion laws)
• The number of women with abortion complications requiring medical attention would fall from 8.5 million to 2.3 million

Access to prevention and care could dramatically reduce mortality and ill-health among women and children by preventing transmission of STIs, including HIV, and averting maternal and infant deaths and disabilities. Also, a mother’s death can lead to the death of her baby. Thus, reducing maternal mortality saves the lives of children too.  Child mortality could decrease by 13 percent if all women could delay their next pregnancy by at least 24 months. It would further decrease if the interval between births approached 36 months. 

​High fertility rates can be detrimental to a woman’s participation in the labor market, and hence her ability to generate income and improve her bargaining power within the household.
 
In Guatemala, the average number of children desired by women is 2, however the average number of child per woman is 3.1 and 3.7 in indigenous communities. This is often due to lack of access or knowledge of family planning information and contraceptive options.
​
Access to sexual and reproductive health information and services offers women the means to control their own bodies and to decide whether and when to have children.  Women’s ability to control their fertility can create opportunities for increasing their skills and participating in the workforce or other activities outside the home.
 
When women are able to seek out employment and their own income, they are better able to advocate for themselves, and their children, in their homes and ensure that their well-being is respected. 

​Investing in sexual and reproductive health contributes to dramatic improvements in health worldwide and strengthens health systems more generally. In fact, the ability to meet reproductive health needs is a signal indicator of the overall coverage and accessibility of services in the health system.
 
Training healthcare providers in a rights-based approach, as done so with sexual and reproductive healthcare, can have a positive effect on the quality of care in general. Similarly, improved skills in counselling, which is central to comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare, can have an impact in other areas. Likewise, investments in basic and emergency obstetric care can bolster the quality of care and help providers deliver other services more effectively.
 
Also, with more controlled populations, there is less burden on the quantity of care needed for communities, and more focus, and investment, can be put into the quality of care provided for each patient. 

Population growth due to high fertility results in increased demand for food and natural resources. The population of our planet is growing at unsustainable rates – the stress that the current population growth rate puts on our planet can have devastating effects on individuals, families, communities and the planet as a whole.

​Sexual and reproductive health is related to multiple human rights, including the right to life, the right to be free from torture, the right to accurate information and education, the right to health, the right to privacy, the right to education, and the prohibition of discrimination.
 
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) have both clearly indicated that women’s right to health includes their sexual and reproductive health. This means that States have obligations to respect, protect and fulfill rights related to women’s sexual and reproductive health.
 
The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: "Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.”

In 2015, The United Nations and its partner countries adopted a set of 17 goals to  end poverty,  protect the planet, and  ensure prosperity for all  by 2030.
 
Though many goals are associated with the importance of Sexual and Reproductive Health, two goals (and associated targets) are directly linked to access to sexual and reproductive health education and resources:

In comparing abstinence-only programs with comprehensive sex education, comprehensive sex education was associated with a 50% lower risk of teen pregnancy. Sex education programs that: are balanced and realistic, encourage students to postpone sex until they are older, and promote safer-sex practices among those who choose to be sexually active, have been proven effective at delaying first intercourse and increasing use of contraception among sexually active youth. These programs have not been shown to initiate early sexual activity or to increase levels of sexual activity or numbers of sexual partners among sexually active youth.
 
Students who received abstinence-only programs were shown not to demonstrate any change in their likelihood of delaying sexual activity, and they demonstrated a marked increase in the decision to participate in unsafe sex as only 23% of sexually active teens who received abstinence only programs reported using a condom.
 
Some people say that teaching kids about contraception encourages them to have sex, but that’s patently false.  According to research led by the Guttmacher Institute, "teens who had received instruction on both abstinence and birth control were older at first sex than their peers who had received no formal instruction and were more likely to have used condoms or other contraceptives at first sex; they also had healthier partnerships."

​This transformative investment from the Novo Foundation will allow us to continue to work on reaching our organizational goals:

• Reach over 300 students each year
• Lower rates of teen pregnancy
• Lower drop-out rates for teen girls
• Raise overall self-esteem, self-value and personal agency among teen girls
• Include boys in the creation of gender-equal communities
• Inspire girls and boys to develop the skills, confidence and knowledge needed to create positive change in their lives and communities

Guatemala has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in Latin America. Half of all girls here have their first child before their 19th birthday, and 1 in 5 have 2 children before they’re 18.
 
There’s no doubt that family planning has a role in empowering people, and especially empowering women. But we think the relationship is cyclical, not linear.
 
Or to put it another way: empowering people is the key to family planning.

​Though it is important to equip girls with the knowledge of sexual and reproductive health, at SERniña by REALgirl, we firmly believe that what is essential is that girls are guided to develop self-esteem and personal agency, so they have the assertiveness to advocate for themselves, and make informed life choices. 

SERnina workshops are intended to do just this, with modules including Using Your Voice, My Body My Rules, My Amazing Magical Female Body, Developing Healthy Relationship,  and Overcoming Gender Roles. We use effective and innovative methods, from role playing to yoga, to create a generation of girls able to make the family planning decisions they know are right for them.
 
This World Population Day we want to continue to grow our network of support to be able to provide more girls with the opportunity to participate in SERniña by REALgirl Programs.

EDUCATION & HEALTH 

• 25% of the country is illiterate.
• According to USAID the average length of education is four years and only one third graduate from the sixth grade.
• Widespread poverty means that many children are forced to leave school due to either their parents’ inability to pay for school related expenses (transport, uniform, supplies etc) or the necessity of children to work.
• Drop out rates in the rural and indigenous population is dramatically high. [4]
• Teen pregnancy rates are very high, on the rise, and a major factor in drop out rates among girls.

Low levels of education and lack of healthcare (knowledge & access) have been identified as major contributors to the teen pregnancy epidemic and present very real barriers for girls and to all areas of their development.

Guatemala enacted a Family Planning law in 2009 with the intention of addressing the issue of teen pregnancy, but the follow through has been poor. Access to contraception remains a problem for teenagers due to conservative attitudes, cultural norms and the influence of the Catholic tradition.

The realities of conservatism and a lack of proper resources and training means that schools often don’t deliver proper sexual health education which is ‘officially’ required by law. The 2011 law administered by the Ministry of Education which prohibits dating in schools is evident of the punitive attitude surrounding the topic. [5]  The statistics reveal significant issues with access to education which disproportionately affect girls. 

Education in Guatemala: Access vs. Quality
What is harder to understand and measure is the quality of education. For those who make it and stay in school, the encouragement of idea-formation and participatory and exploratory learning approaches are lacking. The reliance on note-taking learning techniques, produces students who are unable to think for themselves, unable to form opinions, unable to form an argument or even answer questions confidently (or at all). Students’ opinions are under-valued. It’s not hard to imagine what kind of person this creates and the vital skills students miss out on when they have not developed the confidence and ability to express their own ideas. Teacher training is also a very significant issue in education here in Guatemala.

We keep having conversations about access to education, it is much harder to have the conversation about quality. At the moment the current educational landscape in Guatemala is not equipped to lay the foundations for a future of women empowered with the knowledge to confidently make informed decisions, adequately take care of themselves and their families, take control of their own lives or a future with more female leadership and political representation across society.

After two successful years of SERniña programming, we are gearing up to launch SERniño! SERniño will build on the existing resources and networks of SERniña to provide workshops to boys and young men which focus on the creation of healthy masculinities. 

Particularly in today’s political climate, it is clear that we must include boys and men in the conversation about gender equality. SERniña wants to counteract the idea that gender issues are a “women’s problem.” To truly move forward, all people – regardless of gender – must work in collaboration, and we want to start now. 

​
Still not convinced? Here are five reasons why it’s important to invest in boys:

1. Guatemala has the third highest rate of femicide – the killing of women – worldwide. Much of this violence happens in the home, yet domestic violence is rarely reported as it is considered a private matter. The occurrence of domestic violence has direct linkages to machismo culture, or exaggerated masculinity. 

Boys’ education can address these problems. Data from the United States found that after one year of workshops on redefining masculinity and male strength, boys and young men were significantly more likely to intervene in situations when a girl was being touched inappropriately by male peers, intervene when a peer was being harassed or threatened with physical violence, and to disagree with statements supporting pro-harassment beliefs. By educating boys and young men directly, we can work with them to fight the culture of violence and impunity. 1


2. Men who have completed secondary education are less likely to use violence against women, and more likely to be present during childbirth, involved in childcare, and hold more gender equitable attitudes. 2
 
Participants of the SERniña program have a zero percent school dropout rate, compared to the 54 percent dropout rate among students ages 11-13 in Sacatepequez, the state where SERniña launched. Creating programming for boys that incentivizes them to stay in school will not only impact their educational attainment, it will have positive impacts on their treatment of women.


3. Boys with positive male role models are more likely to question gender inequities and harmful stereotypes, and less likely to take part in risky sexual behaviours. 3
 
SERniño workshops will be run by local young men aged 19 to 30 who have come directly from the community where they are working, and who have been trained extensively in the SERniño philosophy. Meeting with facilitators over the course of a year will be an opportunity for boys and young men to build relationships with male mentors with whom they can identify, and who can act as positive role models. 


4. Research shows that men who are positively engaged in the lives of their children or stepchildren are less likely to be depressed, to commit suicide, or to be violent. However, in machismo conceptions of masculinity, spending time in the home with family and children is often considered feminine.  4
 
Learning different conceptions of “manliness” so that being a good father is not viewed as feminine will ultimately make the boys and young men more likely to be good fathers and have rewarding, happy, healthy lives.
 

5. 80 percent of Guatemalan men surveyed by the United Nations agreed with the statement “women need permission to leave the house.” Significantly, 70 percent of Guatemalan women agreed as well. 5
 
This shows us that it is absolutely necessary to have partner workshops for both boys and girls in Guatemala, to empower girls and to teach boys about the value of working in partnership rather than from a place of power over women. 

Finally, you were invited to write down, on boxes that had been wrapped like gifts, a quality that you like about yourself. The message being, when we are not confined by gender roles we are more free to express ourselves and share our gifts with the world. ​​

Throughout the day, I regularly visited the girls over at Sexual Health and My Moon Cycle. The girls at these two stations needed the most support as masses of boys would come wandering over and begin acting out and making jokes, completely normal behaviour given the themes. The girls educating on Sexual Health were handing out cards with different parts of both sexual and reproductive systems and visitors/students had to label them correctly. Over at the next table a similar activity focused on the processes of menstruation and fertilization. ​

The girls at My Moon Cycle were given the responsibility of educating on the importance of not having shame about our periods, as well as the special connection that our own menstrual cycle shares with the cycle of the moon and how we should be proud of our female bodies; our capacity to produce life is thanks to our periods. They also spoke in detail about the 4 different phases of our cycles and what each means for our emotional and physical states. Various adult women that I spoke to during and after the event were so impressed and said they were a little embarrassed by how much they didn’t know about their cycles.

When girls learn to appreciate and love their body, no matter the size, colour or shape, girls are also learning to love themselves and to be proud of who they are. When girls see their bodies as vessels to contribute to the world, instead of simply as ornaments to decorate it, they feel empowered to take control of their lives and  believe in their power to create change and become leaders.​

aSERniña (by REALgirl)’s Approach to Yoga for Self-Esteem
 
Because the SERniña curriculum is dedicated to addressing the issues of low self-esteem at their root and building a lasting sense of empowerment from the inside out, re-connecting girls with their bodies through a basic knowledge and the experience of yoga & meditation has proven to be very effective.
 
The SERniña yoga practice is not just a fitness class. Before and during each session we talk about how yoga can help us connect to our bodies, the importance of connecting with our breath, the significance of particular poses and during meditation we offer messages of encouragement and through guiding questions nurture a practice of self-reflection. The aim is to encourage the girls on a path of self-discovery and self-knowledge, to value themselves, and their bodies, on a more profound level and to discover their skills and interests in order to create their own path in life. 

​ So, everyone go out there and get bendy. Practice yoga with your daughter and encourage the women around you to share in the practice as well. When we love our bodies, we love ourselves, and when we love ourselves, anything is possible.

1  Anea Bogue, M.A., CLC, B.Ed. -REALgirl® Creator & Director.  Click here  to learn more

There has been increased attention on the benefits of  empowering girls in recent years. The United Nations has made it a specific priority: Goal 5 of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals  is “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” 1 

But what does ‘EMPOWERMENT’ look like and why is it important?
​
According to the World Bank, empowerment is “the process of enhancing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes.” 2 In short, empowerment is about agency and the access to choices. The ability to make choices is a complex idea but basically, there needs to be more than one viable option available to you for you to make an authentic choice.
 
Studies show that empowerment is closely linked to education. For instance, the higher educated women are, the more likely they are to exercise control over household decisions, they are less likely to accept domestic violence and generally have greater freedom to lead independent lives. 2

Here are 8 reasons why empowering girls is a critical need right now:

1. It promotes political leadership amongst girls which creates a more equitable society
 
If we are to achieve authentic gender equality in the future, we need more women in positions of power. Education equips women with the skills to develop into future leaders. Additionally, women are more likely to develop and advocate for policy that improves family and community life than men.
 
More generally, leadership skills, like decision making, forming ideas, working in teams and negotiation, prepare girls to navigate their personal and future professional lives more successfully. Taught at an early age, these life skills are fundamental to the empowerment of girls and women.
 
2. It cultivates “soft skills” which are vital for personal and professional development
 
According to research, soft skills, such as emotional intelligence, effective communication, mediation, collaboration, creativity and strength of character, are critical to the healthy development of boys and girls. In fact, 85% of job success comes down to soft skills and only 15% of job success from technical skills and knowledge according to research by the Carnegie Foundation, Harvard University and the Stanford Research Centre. 3
 
3. It better equips girls to transcend rigid gender norms that undermine their full  potential
 
Improving the quality of education, which includes implementing a gender-sensitive curriculum, is essential to prepare young people with the skills they need to thrive in the world. For girls, an education that allows them to transcend rigid gender norms allows them to better reach their full potential, learn better and benefit more from their education.
 
For instance, gender norms that teach girls to be sensible and obedient greatly affect their ability to think for themselves, form opinions, and make decisions. This hinders the way they learn, their participation in the classroom and how they engage with content.

A study commissioned by UNESCO on the participation and performance of girls in Science, Mathematics and Technology subjects found that low expectations amongst parents and teachers towards girls’ abilities and the attitudes of obedience and subservience instilled in girls “makes it difficult for girls to fully benefit from the participatory, discovery methods that are recommended because they will be reluctant to ask questions, participate fully in discussions or work in groups with members of the opposite sex.” 4
 
4. It creates healthier families

As women around the world traditionally take on more responsibility for the health of the family, when women are more empowered, more educated and healthy, families are healthier. Girls who receive a good quality sexual and reproductive health education at an earlier age are more likely to fall pregnant later in life. If or when they do fall pregnant, girls who are more educated in health practices and empowered through education will be better equipped to manage their lives and the lives of their babies.

Children born to better educated mothers are less likely to suffer malnourishment and more likely to receive better health care, including vaccinations. 5
 
Due to overall improvements in girl’s education 2.1 million children under 5 were saved between the 1990 and 2009, according to UNESCO. 5 Additionally, women with post-primary education are five times more likely than illiterate women to be educated on the topic of HIV and AIDS. 6
 
5. It helps break the poverty cycle
 
Girls are more likely to invest back into their families in smarter and more beneficial ways.
 
Research by the Brookings Institution revealed that with each additional year of education, a girls’ future wage increases by an average of 12%. 7 She will also have better educated children which will set off an inter-generational impact that will aid in breaking the poverty cycle.
 
6. It strengthens economies
 
Girls who stay in school longer, receive a better quality education, are more empowered to make better decisions and will make more substantial contributions to their local and national economies. “Increasing the number of women completing secondary education by just 1 percent could increase a country’s economic growth by 0.3 percent”, a Brookings report reveals. Another report by the McKinsey Global Institute concluded that up to $29 trillion would be added to the annual global GDP in 2025 if women’s participation in the labour market was equal to that of men’s.7
 
For agricultural economies: wages, agricultural income and productivity are higher when women involved in agriculture are better educated. 7
 
7. It can bring about a more peaceful world
 
According to research conducted by the World Bank and Harvard University “if the enrolment rate for secondary schooling is 10 percentage points higher than the average, the risk of war is reduced by about 3 percentage points.” 9
 
So, to put it very simply, more girls in school will result in better educated families and communities and a more peaceful world.
 
8. It’s the right thing to do (and the smartest)
 
The benefits of investing in girls are obvious. But more importantly, we have a collective responsibility to protect her rights and her wellbeing and to ensure every girl has the right to take control of her future.

There is an abundance of NGOs in Antigua Guatemala many of most of which work with children, girls and boys, but many face a similar challenge: how do we best address the needs of girls and make sure they are getting the most out of their programs and education services?
 
SERniña recognized this issue, and was created in the spirit of collaboration. We want to collaborate with existing NGOs and schools who are in the most need of working with their girls on issues of self-esteem, self-value and overall personal development. Once self-esteem is boosted, girls feel more empowered, to participate, to voice opinions, to grow. This critical development will put them in a better position psychologically and socially to better engage with and benefit from their education.
 
To support SERniña on our mission to increase our reach in Guatemala and ensure more girls learn the skills to thrive personally, academically and professionally, click here  and learn about how you can get involved and take an active role in the empowerment of girls everywhere.
 
REFERENCES
1. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
2. What works in Girls’ Education. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2, 2016, from https://www.malala.org/brookings-report, Free, safe, quality education is the right of every girl. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2, 2016, from https://www.malala.org/girls-education
3.http://www.nationalsoftskills.org/research-publications/
4. http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/ste/projects/girls%20africa/femsa/femsa6.html
5. GEM Report: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001902/190214e.pdf
6. http://www.globalpartnership.org/education/the-benefits- of-education
7. http://www.brookings.edu/research/books/2015/what-works- in-girls- education