We’re excited to share with you the impact you had and what we were able to accomplish together over the past year in Mauritania, West Africa!
Since last September, Girls to School has:
You have the chance to change the lives and futures of more than 250 girls and women this year. The next school year begins in October. Will you help us send girls to school this year?
Any amount you can give makes a significant impact:
“The more a girl or woman is educated, the more choices she has in her life.”
Click here to donate. Thank you for being part of Girls to School. We couldn’t do this important work without you. Gratefully,
Heather Arney and Coumba Dieng
Aminata had an early marriage and her husband made her leave school by taking her away to a village for two years. But she fled and went back to hide at her teacher’s house for one month. She only agreed to leave the teacher’s house with the condition that she could go back to her parent’s house and remain at school. Today, Aminata has returned to school and advocating to girls and parents never to make early marriages.
Halima is from a very poor family. Her father does not work and her mother sells juice. They live in a house with two rooms, with no water, with 10 brothers. She is the only girl in her family. This year, Halima was ill and absent from school for one month. But she still became first in her class by waking up 6 a.m. to wash the dishes and swept the house before 7 a.m. so she could work on her school lessons.
Mariem is a very determined 10-year-old girl in her studies because her dream is to become a lawyer. She goes from class to class, speaking for 10 minutes on the role of women’s rights and their protections. She speaks like a 20-year-old woman! She impresses the whole school and in her neighborhood they already call her the lawyer. She is the second in her class this year.
The Guardian’s Global Development blog posted an excellent article today titled, Education is a Powerful Weapon, So Let’s Arm Young Girls With It. They explain, “Reducing child marriage, providing access to health services, and getting more girls to stay in education will save many lives.”
Almost half the children in the world are living in poverty. According to UNICEF, over 93 million children are out of school – the majority: girls.
Girls to School is addressing this injustice in West Africa through established local organizations that create opportunities for girls to obtain a quality education, and women to obtain access to credit to catalyze income-generating activities.
The education and microcredit programs also have indirect effects on the community. Both men and women are seeing the importance of girls’ education and how it can help alleviate the realities of poverty. The mothers in the microcredit programs are teaching other women in the community the skills they’ve learned. A husband of one of the mothers laughed the first time he heard about his wife joining a microcredit group. Today he works with her at her stand in the market because he saw how she has been earning a steady income.
The anticipation is growing for so many girls in Mauritania as they await the school year to begin this October. Many of them have been sponsored in the past and are excited to know that their sponsor will renew this year. But others have lost their sponsors from previous years, and many more have never been sponsored.
Traditionally, girls in Mauritania are expected to marry in their young teens, and at that point bid farewell to any further education or professional growth as an adult. At the same time, many parents wanting to send their daughters to school cannot afford the cost of tuition fees, uniforms and school supplies, and need the girls’ help with household duties. In an environment such as this, $200 US dollars can literally change lives – and not only for the student! Her mother (or another woman in her community) will receive a $25 microloan for entrepreneurial development, so she can make a greater income without needing her daughter at home. Combined with tutoring and a new Big Sisters program, Girls to School is developing woman entrepreneurs, keeping girls in school, and empowering previously sponsored girls with the opportunity to serve as a mentor and guide.
In the past year, thanks to your contributions, Girls to School has completed the following:
We hope that you will support the efforts of Girls to School. The school year will start up in October, and we encourage you to consider supporting one girl’s entire 2012-2013 school year with a $200 contribution. There are many girls currently on the waiting list for the program. However, any amount is a tremendous help and can provide school supplies, clothing, tutors, or microloans.
To become a sponsor or donate, you can donate online or send a check by September 17 to:
Girls to School
PO Box 45818
Kansas City, MO 64171
Thanks for supporting Girls to School! If you have any questions or want more information, contact Heather at heather@girlstoschool.org.