Safe Spaces: The Foundation Every Girl Deserves
Nestled at the base of the stunning Uluguru Mountains in Morogoro, Tanzania, lies a place quietly sparking a revolution – one educated girl at a time. Secondary Education for Girls’ Advancement (SEGA) is not just a school. It’s a launching pad for possibility, a sanctuary for resilience, and a model for how to create lasting change.
More than classrooms and a dormitory, SEGA Girls’ School is a sanctuary of laughter echoing from the cafeteria, of songs and dances offered in welcome, of cheers rising from the sports field under the hot afternoon sun. To walk onto campus is to feel the rare alchemy of joy and safety woven together, a space where girls are free to learn, to lead, to play and to simply be.
For adolescent girls, whose lives so often carry the weight of expectation, risk, and silence, this space is nothing short of radical. At SEGA, they find more than an education. They find belonging. They find voice. They find freedom.
Why SEGA Had to Be a Safe Space
When Polly Dolan co-founded SEGA in 2008, she knew education alone wasn’t enough. Girls in Tanzania weren’t just dropping out of school because of fees or grades — they were navigating unsafe journeys to school, harassment, the threat of early marriage, or the crushing responsibility of household labor.
“If we wanted girls to thrive, SEGA had to be a place where they lived,” Polly reflects, “a place where they were getting the basics – 3 nutritious meals a day, clean water to drink, a safe environment to live in, with ample time to study, play, and develop. A place where they felt safe, supported, and free to focus on learning.”
That vision became the foundation of SEGA: a residential school designed not just to teach, but to protect. Dormitories, mentors, and holistic care became part of the curriculum, as essential as courses like math or English.
Safe Spaces Matter for Girls Everywhere
Globally, the evidence is clear: safe spaces change outcomes. According to UNICEF, adolescent girls with access to safe environments are more likely to stay in school, avoid early marriage, and develop higher self-esteem. The World Bank has linked such spaces to stronger learning outcomes, greater resilience, and pathways out of generational poverty.
In other words, safe spaces aren’t a luxury. They are the foundation. They allow girls to move from surviving to thriving, and step into futures defined not by fear, but by possibility.
What Safe Space Really Means at SEGA
At SEGA, that foundation is tangible. “For girls who have faced abuse, food insecurity, child marriage, or gender-based violence, the school’s residential environment is more than a campus—it’s a shield. Here, girls are safe, fed, and supported so they can focus fully on their studies. They receive four meals a day, nursing care, school supplies, and access to professional counselors and matrons—resources absent in most public schools” Laina, Director of SEGA shared.
From its earliest days, SEGA stood apart. In 2008, when few schools in Tanzania were even talking about child protection, SEGA introduced a policy to safeguard the well-being of every girl. That early commitment, reviewed and strengthened over the years, has shaped a culture where safety is a daily reality. “It has given both staff and students a deeper understanding of how to protect emotional and psychosocial health and built bonds of trust that are rare in many schools” explains Laina.
For Laina, “a safe space is not only physical. It’s emotional and psychological. It’s creating an environment where a girl knows she belongs, where she feels confident enough to raise her hand in class, to ask questions, to try and fail, to try again.”
It means teachers trained to encourage, counselors, a child protection officer and a matron ready to listen, along with peer networks that uplift rather than tear down. It means knowing there will be food at mealtimes, that sanitary pads are available, that dignity is non- negotiable.
That vision is lived out in the details of everyday life. And it’s these small, consistent assurances, day after day, that build the foundation for transformation in the lives of adolescent girls.
From Safety to Success
Safety is only the beginning. SEGA pairs protection with opportunity. A robust academic curriculum is woven together with life skills and entrepreneurship training, giving students both the knowledge and the hands-on experiences they need to succeed in life. Through positive discipline and SEGA’s child protection policy, girls learn not just their academic lessons, but also their rights, responsibilities, and the value of their voices.
And the impact is clear. SEGA students consistently achieve strong academic results because they have what every student deserves: a safe environment to learn, trusted adults to guide them, and the freedom to dream. Through leadership training and sexual and reproductive health education, girls gain confidence, avoid early pregnancy, and build the self-esteem to aspire to futures far beyond the limitations of poverty.
A Place to Dream, A Place to Grow
At SEGA, transformation is visible every day. The once-shy girl who now commands her classroom. The student who steps up to lead her peers in extracurricular clubs. The graduate who returns to mentor the next generation.
Take Loiness, for example. Today, she is pursuing her degree in Agricultural Investment and Banking at Sokoine University, continuing her journey of education, independence, and leadership. But the road wasn’t easy.
“I grew up believing that continuing my education was impossible. My family sold vegetables just to afford food and school supplies. But everything changed when I met SEGA. It wasn’t just a school—it was a family that believed in me. Today, I am a university student. I am educated, empowered, and proud to be a voice for other girls. Many girls have the ability to succeed—they just need someone to believe in them. When supported, girls rise.”
Her story—and so many others—remind us that when you create safe spaces, you create leaders.
Laina, SEGA’s Director, sees firsthand the ripple effects of safe spaces on girls’ lives. As she explains: “If every girl in Tanzania had a safe space during adolescence, we would see a generation of confident women—thriving and leading social change. Educated women invest in their families, strengthen their communities, and create better living conditions. They become leaders at every level and raise the next generation of leaders too.”
Your Role in Creating Safe Spaces
Every safe space begins with someone choosing to believe in a girl’s potential. That belief is reflected in the walls that protect her, the meals that sustain her, the mentors who guide her, and the community that uplifts her.
At SEGA, safe spaces unfold in classrooms, dormitories, and daily routines — but the impact ripples outward to transform families, villages, and beyond.
Because when a girl is safe, she can dream. And when she can dream, she can change the world.
Join us in ensuring more girls from under-resourced communities experience what every child deserves: to feel safe, to be seen, and to reach her full potential.