When girls take the lead, they can bring communities together around issues that affect everyone. In six villages, adolescent girls did just that, mobilising residents to clean public spaces and promote better hygiene during Uganda National Cleaning Day.
On 28 August, announcement vans moved through the villages to introduce the Adolescent Girls Power Program (AGPP) and encourage community participation in the clean-up. Local leaders received brooms, masks, gloves, waste sacks and drinking water to support the exercise.
The following day, 249 community members, including 179 women and girls and 70 men, joined the girl-led effort to clean public pathways and markets. Residents and local leaders welcomed the initiative, recognising the importance of working together to keep their communities clean.
The work will continue beyond the two-day activity. Cleaning supplies will remain in the community safe spaces to support monthly hygiene drives, while AGPP builds on this momentum to enrol more girls and register village groups, creating more opportunities for girls to organise and lead community initiatives.
