Rural girls in Zimbabwe will be able to return to school and obtain an education, which over time can reduce HIV prevalence and eradicate poverty.

Education > Send Rural Girls to School in Zimbabwe

Send Rural Girls to School in Zimbabwe

Summary

In the rural area near Victoria Falls, many girls are in great need of school fees to continue their education. This fund provides school fees, uniforms, meals and support for an empowerment center. read updates from the field

How Donors Like You Helped

Thanks to donors like you, a total of $17,657 was raised for this project.

More Information About this Project

Project Needs and Beneficiaries

The majority of rural Zimbabweans live in poverty due to political and economic challenges and severe drought. Failing crops and record inflation translate to a great number of families unable to send their girl children to school. School fees and uniforms are impossible to pay as prices keep rising. Sadly, families must choose which of their children to send to school and sons are usually first choice. It is likely many girls will never return to school after dropping out.

Activities

IDEX partners with the Girl Child Network (GCN) who uses the funds to pay for school fees, a uniform and hot meals as well as counseling, AIDS prevention and leadership training for the most disadvantaged girls in the area outside of Victoria Falls.

Funding Information

Total Funding Received to Date: $17,657

Funding Information

This project is now in implementation and no longer available for funding. Received funds will be used to accomplish concrete objectives as indicated in the project's "Activities" section. Updates will be posted under the "Progress Report" tab as they become available.

Donors' contributions and pledges to this project totaled $17,657. The original project funding goal was $24,068.

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).

Resources

Project's External Homepage (http://www.idex.org/partner.php?partner_id=13)

Why this Project is Important

Potential Long Term Impact

GCN’s work shows that educating and counseling impoverished girls over the long term reduces HIV-prevalence and provides opportunities for economic independence. Supporting girls’ education and empowerment is an effective tool to eradicating poverty.

Project Message

“What I have actually learned is that as a girl child, I should not be looked down upon. I am empowered to do something.”
- Brenda, Brenda, 16-year old President of a GCN Girls Club

Who is Running This Project

Contact

Sarah Dotlich,
IDEX Africa Program Director
IDEX
827 Valencia Street, Suite 101
San Francisco, CA 94110
United States
415-824-8384
Email:

Project Sponsor

International Development Exchange (IDEX)

Organization

Girl Child Network (GCN)
c/o IDEX
827 Valencie Street, Suite 101
San Francisco, California 94110
United States
415-824-8384
http://www.idex.org/partner.php?partner_id=13

Learn more about Girl Child Network (GCN) and the project team.

Girl Child Network (GCN)'s Funded Projects on GlobalGiving

Send Rural Girls to School in Zimbabwe

Scholarships for Disadvantaged Girls in Zimbabwe

Build a Girls' Empowerment Village in Zimbabwe

Girls' Empowerment Village in Hwange, Zimbabwe

Where this Project is Located

Country

This project is located in Zimbabwe and can also be found under Education.

For more information about Zimbabwe, read the Human Development Report on Zimbabwe or the Wikipedia entry for Zimbabwe.

When this Project was Updated

Last Updated

This project was last updated on October 19, 2007.

Date Added to GlobalGiving

This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on August 24, 2006.

Latest Update from the Field

Fall 2007 Update

By Sarah Dotlich - Programs Officer, October 19, 2007 05:06 PM

Throughout a normal week in the Hwange District of Zimbabwe, 25 girls between the ages of 6 to 18 years visit GCN’s Hwange Empowerment Village. The Village provides a temporary shelter for girls rescued from rape and child abuse as well as a center for education and counseling and a place where girls can go after school. In these centers, the girls are fed, they receive basic health care and sanitary napkins, their uniforms are washed and they have a place to do their homework for school.

According to GCN staff, indicators of empowerment for these girls includes the ability to express themselves through poem writing and drama classes for self-esteem development as well as the ability to express their needs to their teachers and parents.

Empowerment Village staff recently held a Sports Day at the Village that included netball, three-legged races and egg tosses as a way for the girls to play and have some fun. They hope to use such techniques to build confidence for these girls, many of whom, have low self-esteem. All the girls come from poor backgrounds, and unfortunately many are now the head of their household, responsible for younger siblings, because they have lost their parents to AIDS.

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