EC Psychology And Psychiatry

Objective: Adolescence is a critical life stage, yet for many girls living in urban informal settlements, the transition to adulthood is disrupted by poverty, school exclusion, gender‑based violence, and limited access to social protection. This article analyses the girls empowering girls (GEG) programme in Kampala as an adolescent‑responsive urban social protection model.

Methods: A theory‑driven programme analysis was conducted based on a secondary data regarding program implementation and from GEG Cohort II (2022-2025), covering 803 adolescent girls across Kampala’s five divisions. Data sources included enrolment records, mentorship logs, case‑management files, referral registers, and education and vocational tracking tools. Analysis applied a programme logic model and mechanisms‑of‑change framework informed by general strain theory, resilience theory, social learning theory, and ecological systems theory.

Results: The programme reached highly marginalised girls, 92% of whom were out of school at enrolment. Outcomes included school re‑entry (574 girls), vocational enrolment (211), sustained mentorship engagement (51,069 sessions), increased completion of SRHR and protection referrals, and reduced reliance on high‑risk survival strategies. Evidence indicates improved psychosocial wellbeing, help‑seeking behaviour, and future orientation among participants.

Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that layered, cash‑plus social protection interventions can meaningfully alter adolescent transition pathways in urban poverty contexts. GEG provides a scalable framework for integrating adolescents particularly girls into national social protection systems in Uganda and similar low‑resource urban settings.

Keywords: Adolescence; Urban Poverty; Social Protection; Resilience; Girls; Uganda

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