Annual Report 2022 - REALgirl (SERniña) by REALgirl - SERniña

2022

Workshops

Whole

Violence

Workshops

Youth

FOUNDERS' MESSAGE

We are thrilled to celebrate the impact and success of another year at REALgirl (SERniña). Though the repercussions of the pandemic continued to impact our core activities, through creativity, perseverance, and hard work we were able to ACHIEVE an unprecedented impact with our programs:

We deepened and expanded our programs by incorporating more curricula on healing-based approaches, restorative justice, Mayan Cosmovision, and inclusion of more focus on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We expanded our programs to reach two new partner communities.

We grew our offerings to increase our impact by running programs for mothers, fathers, educators, and community leaders.

We increased our collaborative support by running highly-requested violence prevention training programs for our partners’ staff.

And so much more!

None of what we did would be possible without the incredible support of our donors and foundational partners. From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for your support.

We hope that in the following pages, you are inspired by the impact of our work and all the transformation that you helped create!

With gratitude,

Danielle Skogen & Anea Bogue

ABOUT REALgirl (SERniña)

Mission Vision

To advance gender equality in Guatemala by supporting the empowerment of girls, women and youth to reach their highest potential and become innovative leaders dedicated to the creation of safe, equitable, and just communities.

What We Do

REALgirl (SERniña) provides transformative workshops dedicated to empowerment and gender equity for youth around the world. Through our workshops and programs, youth develop the knowledge, skills, and courage they need to make informed life choices and reach their highest potential. We run all of our programs in partnership with local schools and organizations in some of the world’s most marginalized and at-risk communities. Our indepth curriculum runs weekly over the course of three years and fosters the development of self-esteem, personal agency, socialemotional development, human rights advocacy, violence prevention, leadership, and activism.

REALgirl (SERniña) was created to be a support program for schools, public programs, and other non-governmental organizations to take on a holistic approach to girls’ empowerment and address the challenging and dangerous issues facing girls, such as low self-esteem rates leading to risky behaviours, girls entering into unhealthy and violent relationships with older men, high pregnancy rates, high dropout rates, high rates of domestic and sexual abuse, and extremely strong societal pressure to have girls/women staying at the home and not pursuing their own futures.

A Gender Equal Guatemala where everyone can reach their highest potential and safe, equitable, and just communities are the norm.

Recognizing the critical role boys and men play in the creation of safe and equal communities, REALgirl (SERniña) also developed and runs the REALboy (SERniño) Program which is focused on involving boys in the movement toward women’s empowerment and gender equality and supporting them in overcoming the obstacles they face so they can also reach their highest potential.

Recognizing that the youth in our program do not live in a bubble, we also work in partnership with parents, educators, and community leaders to help whole communities heal from the trauma of patriarchal dominance, violence, and racial injustices, to reconnect society to its ancestral roots and create communities that are interdependent, interconnected, and equitable.

REALgirl builds all of its programs on the firm belief that we are all members of one “human team” and together we are stronger.

In all that we do we take on a feminist, holistic, and community-centered approach to gender equity and empowerment.

IMPACT SUMMARY

Despite unprecedented obstacles, such as ongoing school closures and staggering rates of inflation, our programs continued to thrive as we reached more individuals and ran more in-depth programs than ever before. We continued to conduct remote/hybrid programs to start the year, and with schools finally re-opening in June 2022, we were able to return to in-person workshops.

380 children participated in our workshop program

We ran full-year in-depth programs in 7 communities

We provided 778 therapy sessions to 114 survivors of violence

And so much more!

None of this would have been possible without the support of all of you, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

30 families participated in our 'Whole Family Healing Program'

Gender-based violence decreased by 45% among participating families

28 rural mothers participated in weekly workshops

13 fathers participated in positive masculinity programs

14 new young men and women were trained to be facilitators

Program Impact 2022 -

Empowerment & Equity Workshops for Children (SERniña & SERniño)

With most of our schools reopening in June 2022, we were able to finally return to in-person workshops. As the transition back to in-person was a unique challenge and looked different for all our community partners, we worked hard to customize our approach to suit the specific needs of each school/community we worked with.

2022 Impacts:

6 unique community partners

202 girls completed the SERniña Program

178 boys completed the SERniño Program

We also worked hard to redevelop our curriculum to make it stronger than ever for years to come. Some of the changes include: increasing Indigenous education & rights, increasing inclusion of ‘Maya Cosmovision’ approach, deepening masculinities work, and incorporating a more healingbased approach. We look forward to putting these deepened approaches into practice in 2023 and beyond!

Sample Pages From Our Workbook

Program Impact 2022Whole Family Healing Program

Through the support of the Fund for Innovation & Transformation and Global Affairs Canada, in partnership with Real Humanitarian (formerly Canadian Humanitarian), we were able to run and close our pilot ‘Whole Family Healing Program’ which focused on engaging the whole family (mothers, fathers, siblings) in addressing gender-based violence and gender inequality in their families and communities.

The project was a resounding success:

27 families participated which included 148 children, 27 mothers, and 14 fathers

61 survivors of violence were served

We provided 512 hours of workshops and 510 therapy sessions

The number of cases of violence that were reported among the participating families dropped by 45%

41 individuals reported overcoming a situation of violence as a result of the program

79% of individuals reported experiencing less violence in their homes after the program

90% of the women who participated have reported taking concrete action toward their empowerment. For example:

12 women sought sexual and reproductive health support

16 women signed up for adult literacy programs

1 woman chose to complete her education

2 women started their own small businesses

1 woman applied for and secured an accounting internship

47% of participants were able to name a clear action they have taken in their families or communities to better support girls and women

Based on the success of this project, we are thrilled to be taking a similar approach in four communities in 2023 through funding provided by the ‘Fondo Centro Americano de Mujeres'.

Program Impact 2022Violence Prevention & Support

We continued to run and grow our ‘Violence Prevention & Support’ program in one of our longest standing local communities which provides holistic violence prevention and response support to survivors of violence in our programs and their family. This program was created to respond to the high rates of unaddressed domestic and gender-based violence faced by our young participants. This program provides the following services to children in our programs and their families: free group therapy, free one-on-one therapy, free family counseling, free legal support, and personalized case support for each survivor of violence.

2022 Impacts:

114 survivors of violence served

778 therapy sessions were provided for individuals, whole families, and groups including empowerment workshops for women and mothers

Workshops for Women

Our mothers’ program is built off the REALgirl (SERniña) program and provides women and mothers with access to our transformative programs. For the majority of mothers, it is the first time they have ever learned about their rights, sexual and reproductive health, menstruation, and more.

Our local team works in close collaboration with each community to provide additional customized support to the women’s groups. These supports include, but are not limited to:

Sexual and reproductive health access & support

Literacy workshops that allow women to become more informed, qualified for better employment, and greater participation in the community Therapy

The workshops for women and mothers are integrated as part of our ‘Whole Family Healing’ Programs.

Program Impact 2022 -

Taking a Restorative Justice Approach to Healing

Rooted in age-old indigenous practices, a restorative justice approach applies principles and practices centered on promoting compassion, respect, taking responsibility, healing, and strengthening relationships. Unlike a punitive approach to justice, the goal of a restorative justice approach shifts the focus from punishing individuals after wrongdoing to repairing harm and preventing recurrence to the benefit of the victim, perpetrator, and their community.

A common misconception is that a restorative justice approach means no consequences for the perpetrator and denies the victim the justice they deserve. However, true restorative justice programs not only increase offender compliance with restitution and decrease re-offending, but they also increase victim satisfaction, when compared to more traditional, punitive criminal justice responses.

Workshops for Men

Our fathers’ program is built off the SERniño program and provides fathers with an in-depth exploration of our gender equity and positive masculinity programs. For almost all the participants, this is the first time they have explored issues such as healthy communication, violence prevention, healing, and gender equity. The workshops for fathers are integrated as part of our ‘Whole Family Healing’ Programs.

Healthy Masculinity Labs for Adolescent Boys

In 2022, with Global Fund for Children's support, REALgirl (SERniña) started the Laboratorio de Masculinidades Jóvenes (Young Masculinities Lab) to guide boys and young men to reject the destructive machismo they grew up with, learn new positive patterns and behaviors, and promote healthy masculinities in their communities. By nurturing their ideas and contributions, the lab inspires them to become influential community leaders and advocates for positive change.

Monthly, program participants meet to express emotions, boost self-esteem, reflect critically, and discover shared community interests and dialogues. Facilitated alongside Asociación CARACOL, our long-term curriculum partner, workshops also guide participants in rediscovering effective emotional expression.

Sharing the Impact of REALgirl Ethiopia

In 2019, REALgirl (SERniña) created a partnership with Real Humanitarian to mutually bolster our programs. Real Humanitarian has been working in Ethiopia for over 16 years providing holistic education, empowerment, and health support to over 1,500 children and youth living in extreme poverty in Ethiopia.

Over the past three years, we have been working in close collaboration with Real Humanitarian’s Canadian and Ethiopian teams to launch REALgirl and REALboy in Ethiopia. Our approach in Ethiopia is based on our proven and impactful SERniña model and curriculum.

Over 155 Ethiopian children have participated in REALgirl/REALboy workshops in Ethiopia

Over 15 women and men have been trained as Facilitators

REALgirl (SERniña) is built on the foundation of partnerships:

All of our workshops and programs are run in partnership with local schools and nonprofits

We collaborate with local organizations and projects to develop our programs and curriculum and support the development and progress of their programs

We work with government agencies to ensure compliance and increase our reach to the most marginalized communities

And, all of our programs are made possible by the support, collaboration, and funding of our incredible donors and foundational partners.

We could not do it without you!