The consequences of dropping out from school are quite severe as most of the dropouts fail to land good jobs that offer a decent income that terminates the vicious cycle of poverty and enhances sustainable development. The coming in of the Re-Ignite, Innovate, Sustain and Empower (RISE) Project program in Gwanda district has positively impacted the lives of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) since its inception in 2021.

Lihlohonolo Sibanda (23) Sibanda is one of thousands of AGYW who have benefitted from the program alleviating them from HIV risk and improving their life. Falling pregnant while in Form 3 forced Lihlohonolo to drop out of school before completing her O’ Level studies. “Becoming a teen mother at 17 was the most difficult phase of my life, my mother-in-law did not give her blessings towards my union with her son, no proper lobola negotiations were done, my uncle just dropped me off at my boyfriend’s homestead where I was not welcomed. I only stayed because I could not return home,” expressed Lihlohonolo. For the young couple to survive, the husband left to seek employment in South Africa and never returned leaving her as head of household at quite a tender age of 19.

“Eventually I engaged in concurrent sexual relationships to get financial support for myself and my son. From time to time, I would contract STIs and would only get traditional treatment from local elderly women. In 2022, Moscow Moyo, a DREAMS RISE facilitator in ward 15 where I lived invited me to join DREAMS by. Twice I refused as I was too shy to accept assistance until I came across a group of girls having a session. I sat to listen and the conversations around culture, gender and HIV touched me. I then asked to get more information on the program and its interventions and from then I was eager to be part of it” Narrated Sibanda.

Lihlohonolo enrolled into the primary package of the DREAMS RISE program, received all the layered services and having received these services, she was now in a better position to make informed decisions and healthier choices, she got the confidence to request and access clinical services without fear of judgement as well as a chance to turn around her life. Lihlohonolo later trained as an Out of School Club facilitator where she learnt more about the program. Lihlo represents over eighteen thousand adolescent girls and young women reached by the DREAMS program with economic strengthening pathways. Through all this empowerment, she has taken an entrepreneurial path and to date, has managed to work with Econet as a brand ambassador and she also enrolled for a Nurse AID program, and she successfully completed the training in February 2023. With all this, Lihlohonolo is now affording to take care of her son and herself.