Girl Child Network (GCN) - Build a Girls' Empowerment Village in Zimbabwe

Address

Girl Child Network (GCN)
c/o IDEX 827 Valencia Street, Suite 101
San Francisco, California 94110
United States
415-824-8384
http://www.idex.org/gcn.html

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.

Personnel Overview

Anuradha Srikantan - IDEX Africa Program Director
Anuradha has extensive experience in the areas of international education, economic development, and rural development. As a volunteer social worker, she has been involved with many grassroots organizations. Anu has a Masters in International Education and Policy Analysis from Stanford. She is also an alumni of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, India (M.B.A).

Betty Makoni - GCN Founder and Director
Betty Makoni has worked tirelessly to prevent violence, sexual abuse and discrimination against girls in Zimbabwe. She founded Girl Child Network in 1999 while working as a high school teacher in the suburbs of Harare. Born in 1971, she has a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Zimbabwe and is married with three small children.

Personnel Statistics

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