Founded in 2006, Stepping Stones International (SSI) is a non-governmental civil society organisation operating in Botswana. With the vision of a world where children and youth are empowered and achieve their dreams, they support them on their path of becoming self-sufficient adults. Their work focuses on vulnerable youth from age 12 to 25 through holistic development, strengthening families and activating sustainable opportunities.
SSI focuses on child protection, building the skills for life including technology, English literacy and financial literacy. As part of child protection, SSI implements a parenting programme wherein children and parents interact to create a violence-free home. The organisation is based on values of empathy, inclusion, diversity and innovation all coming together in their work, which combines life skills, leadership, psychosocial support, and community mobilisation.
Our Partnership
SSI partnered with Aflatoun in 2009 and as such has been a long-time partner. Since then, they have implemented the AflaTeen+ curriculum, by holding life skill session in schools to ensure that young people understand gender, identification of gender-based violence and know how to report such cases.
Their programmes are person-centred and address the needs of the individual. SSI also collaborated with Aflatoun in the design of the AflaTeen curriculum and helped to introduce it to Botswana in 2010. Since then, it has become a part of the national education system for adolescent girls and young women. Further, SSI was able to reach more than 9000 girls and boys in and out of schools and has trained other organisations on implementing social and financial education. Through this they were able to extend their reach to rural areas and provide support to more children.
SSI also integrated the AflaYouth curriculum into their work, to help guide young people to choose a career path or foster entrepreneurship. With the unemployment among young people at 37% in Botswana, this programme aids in preparing them for the workplace and innovating business ideas. The organisation participated in a piloting programme for the Aflatoun cryptocurrency and blockchain technology curriculum in 2023. Over the span of ten sessions, 23 trainers and 1,1739 students participated in the testing of the curriculum, equipping young people with the knowledge to engage in safe online practices in our increasingly digital age.
A Financial Education Success Story
Masego*, a recent high school graduate shares that the financial education programme run by SSI transformed her life by teaching her smart saving skills. Masego saved regularly, with consistent check-ins keeping her on track. Her determination and resilience paid off, allowing her to raise enough capital to launch her small catering business. Starting small, she sold buns, hot dogs, fresh chips, and snacks. Today, she runs a thriving stall outside a local primary school.
*Names have been altered in respect of privacy
