The primary strategy for this initiative was a cartoon character named Sara. This 13- to 15-year-old character was created through 20 months of research that began in October, 1994. 150 African writers, artists, and researchers, as well as 8000 Africans in rural villages and peri-urban slums throughout the region, took part in Sara's development. (Formative research involving interviews and focus group discussions was conducted in 12 countries over a three-year period to assess which issues were most important to young people and to brainstorm about solutions).

Sara is a charismatic heroine living in peri-urban Africa. Like many girls of her age, Sara faces nearly insurmountable socio-cultural as well as economic obstacles in her desire to reach her goals in life. But her aspirations to improve herself and her community by pursuing alternative solutions to problems is meant to be an inspiration. Sara's ability to negotiate and persuade and her determination never to give up - even in desperate situations - makes her a dynamic role model for girls; however, the series was also designed to be inclusive of boys' needs and interests, and includes male role models. HIV/AIDS is a central theme. Many of the stories, like "Sara Saves Her Friend", were intended to educate girls and to keep them in safe school environments as long as possible. In these and other stories, rather than being presented as a victim who evokes pity and sympathy, Sara emphasises girls' potential. Sara's adventures were designed to be informative, to motivate people to change, and to address life skills necessary in certain situations. The stories were also designed to illustrate the various environmental factors that facilitate or impede positive change, either at the individual or community level.

Sara's experiences were portrayed in a multi-media project that included seven episodes. These episodes appeared in comic books and animated films. In addition, supporting promotional, advocacy, and informational printed materials were produced by UNICEF-ESARO. For instance, print packages to accompany each episode were created, along with posters and flip charts on various themes, such as children in armed conflict situations (Uganda). A Sara life skills manual was developed as a resource for in-school and out-of-school programmes in the region (to be published in 2003). A trainers' resource manual for prevention of female genital cutting was also completed (for publication in 2003). Sara promotional and advocacy materials were been developed by UNICEF-ESARO, Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda and Ethiopia. Finally, a guidebook for artists was created.

In addition, there were other national-level offshoots of SCI. In various countries in East, Southern, and West Africa, training workshops and Sara discussion groups were held to help various stakeholders use Sara materials. Peer educators helped establish Sara clubs; materials were distrubted to schools. Sara videos were also screened to audiences in rural areas, as well as broadcast on national television and BBC radio. Local Sara materials were developed (and translations completed), as well as songs and dramas based on Sara stories. To cite only one example, in Uganda, the Straight Talk Foundation's newspaper magazine, Young Talk, began incorporating Sara since the mid-1990s. It has a monthly print run of 280,000 copies of which 16 copies are distributed in English to each of 12,000 primary schools in Uganda.

Children, Youth, Girls, Gender, Rights, HIV/AIDS.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, many of the rights of children are not recognised or protected by their families and communities. Lack of respect for rights in the areas of labour, education, and health care has been documented. Many children lack protection from harmful traditional practices, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse and exploitation. In the past decade, HIV/AIDS has become the greatest new threat to children's well being and survival. Among young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in Eastern and Southern Africa, females are up to six times more likely to be infected than males (UNAIDS, June 2000). One of the fundamental causes of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa is gender inequity (SIDA, Nov. 1998; Long and Ankrah, 1996). The rights of African girls are less recognised and valued than those of boys. Because girls' primary role is child bearing and nurturing, girls learn to take on a subservient role at an early age. This leads to a lack of basic psychosocial skills, such as the ability to communicate wishes assertively, to think critically and creatively, to make decisions and negotiate, to solve problems in social relationships, to resist pressure, and to and cope with emotions and conflict.

SCI was launched in response to these problems and as a follow-up to the Meena Initiative in South Asia. Phase 1 took place from September 1994 to August 1996. UNICEF-ESARO hosted several regional training workshops for African researchers, writers, and artists. Research was conducted in 10 countries in 1995. A radio series was then developed through collaboration with the BBC Education Department. English, French, Portuguese, Swahili and Hausa voices were then recorded for the animated film and radio series using African talent in Nairobi, Abidjan, Maputo, Dar-es-Salaam and Kaduna, respectively. Capacity building of artists and research assistants followed.

In 1999, a mid-term evaluation was conducted. Among other studies, a quantitative survey was conducted in 25 districts in Tanzania. The 2 to 3 years of SCI's implementation resulted in the following:

• Out of 635 girls interviewed in 25 districts, 32.4% could correctly identify Sara when shown an illustration.
• 18.4% of girls interviewed said that they had read the comic books.
• 14.8% said they had shared the story with others.
• 14.3% of the girls interviewed had been exposed to the comic books at school.
• 10.2% of girls interviewed had heard the radio show.
• 15.3% of girls interviewed had seen a Sara video.
• 13.4% of girls interviewed had seen the poster for episode 1.