Feel Good Friday - CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education)

Welcome to another Feel Good Friday during Women’s History Month! Today we’re celebrating by focusing on an organization that works with girls, CAMFED. 

Founded in 1993, CAMFED is the Campaign for Female Education. As they explain on their website, “we catalyze the power of the most vulnerable girls and young women to create the future they imagine — for themselves, for their communities, and for Africa.”

 

Wondering why the focus on girls’ education? Because investing in girls improves the health and wealth of both the girls and their communities. According to the statistics, a girl who receives an education earns 25% more per year of secondary school, will invest 90% of her earnings in her family and is 3 times less likely to become HIV positive. Learn more in this short intro video.

 

CAMFED works in sub-Saharan Africa where 52.2 million girls are excluded from education. They partner with 6,853 government schools in some of the poorest districts in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi. It’s the communities in those districts who select the children most in need to participate in CAMFED’s programs. These girls receive help with books, school fees, uniforms, sanitary protection, mentoring and social support. To date CAMFED has helped 4.1 million students go to primary and secondary school.

 

Once girls graduate, they can join the CAMFED Association (CAMA) to volunteer in schools as learner guides, become mentors, rally community support for other girls or help monitor CAMFED programs. CAMA has been in place since 1998 and has grown into a network of 157,000 women leaders educated with CAMFED support. 

 

In addition to all of this, CAMFED also works with communities to design and implement their programs, train teacher mentors, provide school equipment and establish parent support groups. Check out this page of short films to hear directly from participants and learn more about CAMFED’s impact. 

 

If you want to support the work CAMFED is doing to educate young girls in Africa you can make a donation and amplify their message by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter@Camfed.