How WEP Began
In 2002, at our first Center in Madurai, we formed our program, now called the Leadership Academy, by listening to our students. Initially offering scholarships and academic support from a small rented home surrounded by a garden, the program evolved from students’ tea-time conversations. Young women, voiceless at home, now had a safe space to discuss issues, needs, and problems and to laugh and dance. By listening, we formed our Certificate curriculum, started a daily nutritious snack and kitchen garden program, created a library and computer lab, and showed how the program as a whole, needed to be holistic, flexible, and easily adaptable to the local culture. Most importantly, our students’ need for space and friendship, formed the heart of WEP – our Sisterhood.
WEP’s Leadership Academy
At the Leadership Academy, within a community of peers and an inclusive, exploratory learning environment, young women from marginalized backgrounds discover their inner spark, and nurture their leadership potential while gaining knowledge, skills, and a broad understanding of their opportunities. The Academy program is provided at the Center, a safe space to socialize, study, and grow among friends. Students who are at a distance from the Center, attend Satellite programs. Provided in partnership with grassroots NGOs, WEP’s Leadership Academy is run by women from the community who, using area resources, adapt the program to meet students’ interests and needs.
Why It Works
WEP’s Leadership Academy, our core curriculum, is community-based, culturally aligned, holistic, flexible, and cost-effective. The local Academy Director enrolls 100* students and using area resources, adapts the Academy to meet student needs and fulfill curriculum requirements. The Director is supported by WEP’s training and resource center, the Collaboration Lab.
Women’s Collaboration Lab
WEP partners with NGOs, that enlist local women to lead the Leadership Academies in their communities.
- WEP partners with NGOs in need of a WEP program. WEP & NGOs work together to establish multiple Academies.
- Work with NGO staff to identify and train Academy Directors.
- Collaboration Lab provides Academy Directors training and a resource hub for ongoing mentorship and support.
Our Partners
Girl-Focused India-Based NGO Partners
The WEP Academy and its impact is made possible by its partnerships with India-based NGOs, each partner knowing the unique circumstances of the local community to most effectively run the Academy. WEP and NGOs together provide a bridge for young women as they enter adulthood, the Academy serving as an extension to preexisting programs that end at adolescence. Partners range from independent to transformation, depending on the funding infrastructure.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, South India
In Partnership with the Association for Integrated Rural Development (AIRD)
Hyderabad, Telangana
In Partnership with Centre for World Solidarity (CWS)
Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh
In Partnership with VFT, Aarti Home
Our Students and Alumnae
In 2020, WEP surveyed 200 enrolled students and alumnae who responded:
64%
Entered formal sector professional & entrepreneurial careers (pre-pandemic)
75%
Credit WEP as the principal factor in securing employment & attaining higher income
95.8%
Highly recommend WEP
96%
Expressed confidence in attaining career goals (despite COVID-19)
100%
Marry after age 18
“My favorite part of the Leadership Academy is the life skills workshops to help our students make informed decisions, communicate effectively and [become self-reliant]. It imparts soft skills relating to emotional and social intelligence to cope in a competitive world.”
“Academy journals teach life skills, taught neither at college nor home. These journals fill the important gaps in their understanding of the world around them. The self confidence, skills, and self-worth they develop at WEP – one cannot put a price tag on it.”
“In our first year in Madurai, we noticed girls crying about their mother’s illness, a loan shark’s visit, or marriage pressure. We began the Leadership Academy for young women gain their voice to make decisions and choose how they wish to participate.”
