Applied research for adapting and scaling Tuseme gender empowerment clubs in refugee and internally displaced settings in East Africa

• In Event: Gender, Power, and Educational Equity across Global Contexts

Proposal

Introduction:

Man-made conflicts and natural disasters continue to force communities into refugee and internally displaced settings. The numbers are growing, and refugees are facing prolonged displacement, averaging 10 to 26 years, with women and children comprising over half of the known refugee population (Calabria et al., 2022). Such communities face compounded and cyclical marginalisation with their social cohesion, education and opportunities for economic independence severely disrupted. The East African region exemplifies this crisis through hosting increasing numbers of displaced individuals and communities. For instance, by the end of 2023, 171,000 people were internally displaced in Kenya, of whom 131,000 were displaced by disasters and 40,000 by conflict and violence (IDMC, 2024). Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, making it Africa's largest refugee-hosting nation (UNESCO, 2023). In 2023, Ethiopia had an estimated 2.9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to internal ethnic conflict and an additional 1.1 million people displaced due to climate events (UNICEF, 2023). The situation is exacerbated by the current withdrawal of funding by previously generous governments that are shifting towards prioritising their domestic needs while the needs of displaced persons increase, contributing to a more divided world.

Quality education offers a lifeline for breaking the cycle of disadvantage and improving life chances, particularly among displaced communities who have lost their livelihoods. This paper will present findings from a GPE-KIX-funded regional applied research project, which explores if and how the Tuseme gender empowerment club can be scaled into refugee and internally displaced communities in the East African region. Tuseme, a Kiswahili word for ‘let us speak out’, was first introduced by FAWE in Tanzania in 1996 and achieved impact by empowering young people and transforming school cultures in mainstream school settings across 33 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a theatre and creative arts led school club, where girls and boys develop the agency and skills to advocate for their educational and social rights. As such, the discussions will explore the model’s potential to be a tool for restoring peace and prosperity within the settlements and between settlements and host communities, through inclusive education.

Methods:

The three-year project spans three countries (Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia) and utilises a case study approach to develop and test an adapted Tuseme model that is appropriate for the lived realities of refugee and IDP learners. The project will culminate in the development of a toolkit that will support governments and civil society organisations in effectively scaling the adapted Tuseme model within other refugee and IDP contexts.
To date, Phases 1, 2, and 3 (of six) have been completed. Phase 1 examined the implementation of Tuseme in 12 mainstream schools across the three countries, alongside two complementary FAWE interventions: Gender Responsive Pedagogy and Centres of Excellence. Data was gathered through interviews, focus groups, and surveys with school leaders, government officials, students, teachers, and parents to identify enabling conditions for effective, sustainable club implementation. Phase 2 comprised of in-depth scoping studies in 12 refugee and IDP settings to understand contextual challenges and opportunities. This used the same methods as the first phase. Phase 3 triangulated findings across the mainstream and displaced contexts to develop an adapted Tuseme model appropriate for learners in IDP and refugee settings.

The case study settings for phases 1 and 2 were identified using purposive sampling, to ensure a diverse range of settings and mix of the three models. Stakeholder groups were identified using a 2x2 power vs interest matrix and all primary qualitative data was collated, coded, and analysed on the software Dedoose. To ensure the robustness of findings, the team practiced double processing when coding data, meaning two researchers independently coded the data and then cross referenced their codes.

What we are learning and how it addresses peace through education:

This presentation will introduce how an accessible inclusive innovation, Tuseme, can be ethically and effectively integrated into complex, under-resourced humanitarian education systems and foster peace through shared agency. It will thus contribute to our understanding of how innovative education can serve as a pathway to peace in divided and fragile contexts in East Africa and replicated in wider contexts. The data triangulation process found that while many foundational elements of the Tuseme model are transferable, the success of the adapted Tuseme model will need to be cognizant of a range of enabling and disenabling factors identified in the first two phases of the project. These include: engaging parents to mitigate restrictive cultural norms; managing teacher-led recruitment to ensure student motivation; fostering male allyship through joint discussions with boys and girls; managing teacher turnover and handover strategies; addressing emotional trauma and psychological distress; and maximizing available resources and integrating into existing programs to ensure effective delivery despite inadequate hard and soft school infrastructure. This is in addition to deploying strategies to manage the ongoing volatility within and around settlement environments, which are often located in hard-to-reach areas, and addressing the socio-economic factors, which lead to dropouts, teenage pregnancy, absenteeism, and prostitution.

The presentation will contribute a previously under researched innovative approach to education in unstable IDP and refugee settings. The process of adapting Tuseme for refugee and IDP settings begins to provide valuable insights into how education interventions can promote social cohesion, gender equity, and local agency, even in the face of systemic adversity. As such, this work adds to the broader discourse on peacebuilding by showing how grassroots, school-based initiatives can help build bridges across lines of difference and lay foundations for more just, equitable, and peaceful societies.

Authors

• Alexander Towne, Australian Council for Educational Research UK

• Naomi Watasa Lumutenga, HERS-East Africa

• Rose Atieno, Forum for African Women Educationalists