From awareness to transformation: Embedding gender and social inclusion in the ‘My Village’ programme

‘My Village’ is a remedial educational programme, designed and implemented by members of the PAL Network, that helps children build foundational literacy and numeracy skills. It groups learners by ability, tailors instruction, uses assessments for progression, and engages schools and communities with supplementary resources. While the core components remain consistent, implementation is adapted depending on the conditions of the local contexts.

While My Village is designed to enhance foundational learning, its potential impact extends beyond academic outcomes. The extent to which the programme integrates gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI) into its design and delivery determines whether it can contribute to transforming unequal power dynamics.

Using the What Works Hub for Global Education framework for GEDSI [PDF], which is adapted from the World Health Organization Gender Responsive Assessment Scale, we assess the My Village programme across five dimensions: design and implementation, data practices, stakeholder engagement, team diversity, and communication. Each dimension is evaluated against the following scale:

• GEDSI-Unequal: Reinforces or exacerbates gender and social inequalities.
• GEDSI-Omitting: Ignores GEDSI considerations in design, processes, or outcomes.
• GEDSI-Aware: Collects and analyses data disaggregated by GEDSI variables.
• GEDSI-Sensitive: Intends to address GEDSI issues but does not challenge existing power dynamics.
• GEDSI-Transformative: Places GEDSI at the core, aiming to transform harmful norms and foster equitable power relations.

This blog draws on data from a February 2025 learning visit to Ludewa District, Tanzania, involving the PAL Network Secretariat, Uwezo Tanzania, and the University of Cambridge. We observed activities and engaged stakeholders to explore how gender considerations are integrated throughout the programme lifecycle and to provide suggestions for moving towards a GEDSI-Transformative approach.

Programme design and implementation

My Village has made strong strides toward inclusivity by grouping children based on ability rather than age or gender, creating spaces where both girls and boys can thrive. Equal access to learning camps and resources reflects a clear commitment to fairness, placing the programme between GEDSI-Omitting and GEDSI-Aware on the GEDSI scale. However, challenges remain: there is no systematic gender analysis or set of targeted strategies to address barriers like caregiving responsibilities or mobility limitations. During our February 2025 visit to Ludewa, we saw promising signs – songs and games designed for all, and stories that subtly challenge stereotypes, such as by depicting girls as leaders and boys as emotionally expressive. These early steps show potential, but intentional design is needed to move beyond awareness.

To fully embrace a transformative approach, My Village should integrate gender-responsive strategies that challenge harmful norms and foster empowerment. Key actions include incorporating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) content, using stories that depict girls as leaders and innovators, and creating opportunities for girls to take leadership roles as peer tutors or mentors. Beyond classroom practices, the programme should engage parents and community leaders to advocate for systemic change in gender norms and promote the importance of girls’ education, alongside initiatives that strengthen family support and economic opportunities.

Data collection and analysis

My Village has built a strong foundation by collecting and analysing gender-disaggregated data, placing it within a GEDSI-Aware approach. Data show that girls often outperform boys in literacy and numeracy and participate more actively when opportunities are safe and accessible. These insights have encouraged conversations about tailoring interventions, such as by adjusting content or timing. However, data collection still focuses on basic participation and performance, with limited attention to intersectional factors like disability, caregiving roles or poverty.

To move from awareness to transformation, My Village must tackle root causes of gender inequality. This means collecting qualitative data on shifts in norms and aspirations, tracking long-term outcomes like continued schooling or leadership roles, and using participatory methods where children, especially girls, shape what data is collected. Sharing findings in accessible formats and co-designing solutions with communities will strengthen accountability. Finally, establishing a GEDSI learning agenda across countries will help compare strategies and scale what works.

Stakeholder engagement and inclusion of marginalised groups

Stakeholder engagement has been a cornerstone of the My Village model, involving teachers, headteachers, community leaders, and education officers to ensure cultural alignment and local ownership. This inclusive approach has helped learning camps thrive in rural areas. In Ludewa District, gender representation among facilitators and teachers leaned female, enhancing visibility of women in leadership roles. Facilitators also worked to make girls feel safe and supported, engaging parents and encouraging girls’ leadership in activities. While these efforts show early signs of GEDSI sensitivity, challenges remain: children themselves are not yet actively involved in shaping programme design, and strategies to challenge restrictive norms are limited.

To reach a GEDSI-Transformative approach, My Village can deepen engagement by involving girls and boys in co-designing learning spaces and establishing youth advisory groups to influence decisions. Partnering with local women’s groups and grassroots leaders will help challenge harmful norms, while creative tools like storytelling and theatre can spark community dialogue on equity and empowerment. Documenting and sharing local innovations, such as inclusive recruitment of female peer tutors or solutions for girls with mobility challenges, will amplify impact and inspire replication.

Diversity within the research and implementation team

My Village currently operates at a GEDSI-Sensitive level, benefiting from strong collaboration among PAL Network members and local partners, which brings geographic and institutional diversity to implementation. In Ludewa District, Uwezo Tanzania worked with local organisations and government to deliver the programme, ensuring cultural alignment and community ownership. However, efforts to promote intersectional diversity, such as representation across ethnicity, disability, age, or socio-economic background, remain informal and ad hoc. There is no structured strategy for inclusive recruitment, capacity building, or leadership development within implementation and research teams, limiting progress toward systemic inclusion.

To embed diversity and inclusion into the programme’s DNA, My Village can establish mentorship pipelines for young women and underrepresented groups, create cross-country peer learning cohorts for female facilitators and researchers, and include youth and community representatives in research teams to bring lived experience into evidence design. Institutionalising gender and inclusion as core values in Terms of Reference, contracts, and performance reviews will ensure accountability. These steps will move the programme from sensitivity to transformation, fostering leadership and equity at every level.

Communication and dissemination

My Village currently operates at a GEDSI-Aware level in its communication strategy. Internal reports and updates highlight gender-disaggregated participation data and success stories, and learning materials increasingly feature female-focused narratives. These efforts show growing awareness of representation. However, external communication remains limited in scope. There are no structured strategies to challenge harmful gender norms or actively promote inclusion through community-facing formats like radio, visuals or storytelling. Engagement with parents, local leaders and policymakers through transformative messaging is still minimal, leaving significant room for improvement.

To become a driver of gender norm change, My Village can amplify its communication efforts by documenting and sharing stories of change, such as girls becoming peer tutors or communities supporting girls with disabilities, across platforms. Creating participatory spaces where children share their learning journeys through art, writing, or public speaking will strengthen visibility. Collaborating with local media and storytelling groups to co-produce content that challenges stereotypes and integrating communication for social change into programme strategy will mobilise communities and policymakers to champion girls’ learning and leadership.

Final remarks: moving toward transformation

My Village has built a strong foundation for gender and social inclusion, operating mainly at a GEDSI-Aware level with emerging GEDSI-Sensitive practices. Girls are thriving academically and assuming leadership roles, and facilitators show openness to gender-responsive strategies. However, most practices remain informal, limiting scale and sustainability.

To move from awareness to transformation, the programme should:

• Formalise gender-responsive design through needs assessments, inclusive materials, and facilitator training,
• Expand data use to include intersectional and qualitative insights for adaptive programming,
• Deepen community engagement by involving marginalised groups in co-creation and leadership roles,
• Institutionalise diversity practices in recruitment, capacity building, and governance structures, and
• Harness communication to challenge harmful gender norms and amplify local voices.

With sustained investment and commitment, My Village can evolve into a GEDSI-Transformative model that not only boosts foundational learning but also empowers girls as changemakers and creates inclusive learning environments for all children.