Gender Action Learning System (GALS) is a community-led empowerment methodology that uses principles of inclusion and women’s empowerment, to improve income, food, security and other aims of both women and men by guiding them to analyse their current situation through a gender lens and develop achievable, gender-equitable, practical visions. It`s strategy accommodates illiterate people who cannot read or write, because it only requires them to express their vision and execute it through drawing. 

GALS reveals and addresses harmful gender norms without provocation; it grows confidence of women and girls to contribute towards decision making and nurtures the desire for leadership. It also unites households and even group members to work towards their vision as well as improve intra-household gender relations.

Tested among young people, women groups, cooperatives, in agriculture sector and in men engagement, GALS has proved to be successful set of tools with positive impacts lively observed at each stage.

PYAO has used the same concept to improve lives of young in people in Phalombe district through a number of workshops it has had with the youths. Most of the young people who once benefited from such workshops have intriguing stories to tell about life improvement.

Some are able to write winning business concepts, some are able to set up and run businesses, some are able to challenge decision makers about the welfare of young people in their communities and some are able to set life goals.

GESI is an approach intended to eliminate existing barriers in order to increase access, enable decision making and participation of marginalised populations such as women, AGYW, people with disability, elderly and children. It borrows the key tools from the GALS specifically vision journey and gender balanced tree.

Both GALS and GESI have reached to approximately 300 people.