A vibrant scene of a group of middle school students in a classroom setting (students only partially seen as the image is focalized on the Educator). A PJL Educator wearing a black t-shirt with ‘PROJET JEUNE LEADER’ written on it, stands in front of a chalkboard filled with white writing. The rest of the group is standing facing her as she laughs and motions with her hands.

What We Do

We're bringing high-quality comprehensive sexuality education to young adolescents across rural Madagascar — at scale, for the first time.

Our specialized Educators harness the power of comprehensive sexuality education to improve adolescents’ health, education, safety, and well-being.

A classroom scene with students in blue uniforms seated at wooden desks attentively listening to a PJL Educator in a black shirt who is partially leaned over the desk to explain the lesson.

A HOLISTIC PROGRAM

Our Educators deliver essential knowledge, services, and support to young adolescents where they spend most of their time: at school.

Our Model

A CSE Educator in a white t-shirt walks towards us on a dirt courtyard with the school buildings seen in the distance against a blue sky. In the background, middle school students in blue uniforms are seen walking in various directions.

SCALING IMPACT

We are testing different pathways, including scaling through government, to bring our model to every young adolescent in Madagascar.

Our Ambition

What Drives Us

Supporting Girls

40%

of girls in Madagascar are married by the time they are 18 years old, and 13% before they are 15 years old.

MICS - UNICEF, 2018

Half

of rural 6th grade students believe a girl cannot go to school while she is menstruating

Projet Jeune Leader data, 2023

One day, a young girl came to see me for counseling. The student confided that a man had been flirting with her, and her friends were encouraging her to accept his advances. I asked her: what did she want to do, given everything she had learned in the PJL class? She responded that her choice would be to continue her studies, and she is not yet ready for this kind of relationship. I realized, 'Wow, what I taught had a real impact on this girl's life.'

Ranjha, PJL Educator

All quotes from students have been translated from Malagasy from handwritten messages students sent to us through our constituent voice magazines.

A group of middle school students in colorful sweaters and shirts is huddled around a wooden table, pointing and drawing an image that looks like a description of the menstrual cycle.

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) gives young people the holistic knowledge, skills, and support they need to make healthy, safe, and empowered decisions.

Multifaceted Impact

Lifelong behaviors and beliefs are shaped during early adolescence. CSE is a strategic intervention that improves adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, behavioral intentions, and self-efficacy at a critical time. And, as we've designed and delivered it, CSE has a powerful impact on school culture and parent engagement.

Gender-Transformative

Our program engages both girls and boys in substantive discussions on gender, power, and identity to challenge harmful norms and practices. This results in significant, measurable changes in gender-equitable mindsets after receiving our program.

Cost-Effective

Our model is intentionally simple and lean. A single Educator delivers a multitude of services to hundreds of adolescent students in otherwise underserved rural communities. Despite being low-cost, our CSE program is a high-impact, high-dosage investment that provides holistic, age-adapted programming over multiple years.

A group of middle school girls wearing colorful outfits walk away from us on a dirt path. To the left is a brick building and the Madagascar flag blows in the wind in the flagpole in the distance against a blue sky.

Step into our students’ shoes to understand our Educators’ impact across Madagascar.

Visit Us (Virtually)