Celebrating a decade of existence and impact, SKY Girls BW hosted a vibrant event that brought together over 2,000 teenage girls for a fun filled day without smoking or alcohol. SKY Girls BW is dedicated to reducing smoking uptake among teenage girls through a behavioral change model that includes events, school talks, social media activations, podcasts, and radio shows.
The event provided free transportation for 2,000 girls from Railpark Mall to Ba Isago University, where the celebration took place. The lineup featured top artists such as Dato Seiko, Lioness Ratang, and South Africa’s DJ Zinhle. Also in attendance was popular youth podcaster from South Africa, Zilewizzy. Rising local artist Raii performed, and a teenage duo, Elisa and Ella, took the stage on the day as well.
Attendees enjoyed dancing, making new friends, and engaging in meaningful activities such as a refusal skills booth where they learned how to handle peer pressure, and a pledge booth where they pledged to staying true to themselves. As part of their corporate social responsibility, Legends Barbershop joined as a sponsor, offering free haircuts to the girls.
“Girls and children in general are not always safe, and the need to protect them has created barriers to genuine connection. We wanted to challenge this by bringing girls from different backgrounds together in a safe and fun space where they could be reminded of the joy of being young and forming meaningful friendships. We also aimed to platform aspirational role models who live smoke free lives while celebrating SKY Girls BW’s ten year journey of fostering smoke free spaces for girls,” said Mmapula Sedie, the Programs Manager at The Dialogue Group, who oversees SKY Girls in both Botswana and Zambia.
Since its success in Botswana, the SKY Girls program has expanded to six other countries, namely Zambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana, with Senegal having launched in 2025.
SKY Girls BW continues to create impactful experiences for teenage girls, reinforcing positive choices and a smoke free lifestyle.
