The first Family Life and HIV/AIDS Education (FLHE) Spelling Bee was held by Education as a Vaccine in honour of the International Day of the Girl Child, which is held every year in October. The theme for the year is “Our time is now—our rights, our future”, seeks to empower adolescents and young people and builds agency while developing the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and competencies required for preventing HIV, reducing early and unintended pregnancies, and eliminating gender-based violence.
In light of this, EVA held a Spelling Bee competition. The spelling bee competition helped AGYW with requisite knowledge of SRHR as they studied the words, improved their spelling skills, and also served as a means of knowledge sharing as students would hear terminologies that were explained during the competition. Furthermore, the Spelling Bee provided a platform for continuous engagement with stakeholders on the need for the full implementation of the Family Life and HIV Education curriculum within schools.
Objectives of the competition
- To improve the knowledge of adolescent girls on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) by improving their SRH vocabulary and public speaking skills.
- To gain stakeholder’s commitment to the implementation of the Family Life and HIV curriculum at all levels of primary and secondary education to bridge the knowledge gap on SRHR/HIV information for in-school adolescents
The state-level competition took place in Benue, Kaduna, and the FCT with five schools from each state participating at the state level to compete for the position of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The winners at the state level and the FCT competed for the winner of the FLHE Spelling Bee Ambassador. Schools represented and position
.
Benue State
Tilley Gyado College- WINNER
Daddy Memorial Secondary School- Second Place
Government Girls’ College, Makurdi- Third Place
Apir Secondary School
ECWA Secondary School
Kaduna State
Government Senior Secondary School, Nassarawa- WINNER
Government Secondary School, Rido- Second Place
Government Junior Secondary School, Nassarawa- Third Place
Government Secondary School, Romi
Neighborhood Junior Secondary School, Nassarawa
FCT, Abuja
Government Secondary School, Wuse Zone 3- WINNER
Government Day Secondary School, Wuse 2- Second Place
Government Secondary School, Mpape- Third Place
Junior Secondary School, Apo Resettlement
Junior Secondary School, Gwarinpa
The grand finale took place at GSS Wuse Zone 3, Abuja and all the winners from the state-level competition were present.
At the end of the grand finale, GSS Wuse Zone 3 emerged as the grand winner, Tilley Gyado came a close second and GSS Nassarawa (Kaduna) came third place.
The strategy used for the event was Edutainment and it was a success. The students had an amazing time while learning in a fun way. The goal of the FLHE Spelling Bee was met because it promoted increased knowledge of SRHR for the girls and improved their public speaking skills.
The audience was not left out as there were opportunities for prizes to be won by students who could spell bonus words correctly. It was really the first of its kind and we are already looking forward to the next one and many more to come.
We had some partners and stakeholders who graced our event. Thank you to the Federal Ministry of Health, Benue State Ministry of Health, Kaduna State Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Education, Benue State Ministry of Education, Kaduna State Ministry of Education, UNFPA, SEB, UBEB, SUBEB, KADBEAM, NYNETHA, Nigeria Youth Network on HIV/AIDS, NACA, SWAG, SEGEI, SOAR Initiative, Lola Carter For the Needy Foundation.
A very big thank you to Global Fund for Women for their support in making this event possible. Until next time stay safe.