PROJECT GEMINI

The Girls’ Education and Mentorship Initiative (GEMINI) is a programme designed to expand access to quality education for vulnerable girls in Northern Nigeria, particularly those affected by or at risk of adolescent pregnancy, teenage sex work, and child marriage.

The Girls’ Education and Mentorship Initiative (GEMINI)

The programme recognises that sustained participation in education for vulnerable girls requires more than school placement alone and addresses both individual and systemic barriers to girls’ educational participation.

Girls supported through GEMINI benefit from sustained mentorship by accomplished women who provide guidance, motivation, and exposure to diverse educational and life pathways. These mentorship relationships are reinforced by advocacy efforts that challenge harmful norms and elevate positive narratives around girls’ education. In 2024, this approach was reflected in the #GirlsEducationMovement, a social media campaign featuring women from Northern Nigeria sharing how education shaped their lives and why continued investment in girls’ education matters.

Championing SDGs 4 & 5

Additionally, GEMINI supports a carefully selected cohort of up to 10 vulnerable girls each year to enrol in safe, quality secondary schools. This cohort-based model enables intensive safeguarding, close monitoring of learning outcomes, and sustained academic and psychosocial support, ensuring that enrolment translates into retention, wellbeing, and long-term educational progression.

GEMINI is designed as a long-term intervention that builds evidence, strengthens girls’ agency, and contributes to policy dialogue around girl-child education, with the goal of influencing broader systems beyond the girls directly supported.