Girl Child Network (GCN)

Mission

Girl Child Network’s mission is to resocialise girls (0-18 years old) so that they articulate their individual and collective rights and strategically position themselves to take charge of their own empowerment.

Programs

GCN began as a club at a high school where girls met to share their concerns regarding forced marriage, virginity testing, rape, prostitution, HIV/AIDS and their limited economic opportunities. GCN now has over 300 clubs throughout Zimbabwe with more than 20,000 members, and three Empowerment Villages that shelter victims of sexual abuse. GCN also has numerous preventative projects including education, training, advocacy, and peer counseling for girls.

Funded Projects on GlobalGiving

Send Rural Girls to School in Zimbabwe	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

Personnel Overview

Sarah Dotlich - IDEX Africa Program Director
Sarah has worked in the international development and education sector for over four years. She was the Africa Program Coordinator at Global Exchange. She traveled to Kenya as a student at the University of Colorado where she received her BA in Cultural Anthropology. Sarah is an active member of the California based Priority Africa Network. She has traveled to Southern Africa several times.

Betty Makoni - GCN Founder and Director
Betty Makoni is an outstanding leader in Zimbabwe. She works tirelessly to prevent sexual abuse and discrimination against girls. She founded Girl Child Network in 1998, while working as a teacher in Harare. She has a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Zimbabwe. Currently, she Chair’s the Women’s Coalition, a national organization of 22 women’s rights organizations in Zimbabwe.

Personnel Statistics

Betty Makoni,
Founder and Director
Founded in 1998
Employees: 25
Volunteers: 300