We educate women because it is smart. We educate women because it changes the world.
– Drew Fuast
Girls’ education is a transformative force. Educated women experience wide-ranging benefits. They have healthier children, are at less risk of experiencing domestic violence and marrying young, have fewer children, higher incomes, and more respect in making household decisions. These advantages combined can help tp lift households, communities, and nations out of poverty. Moreover, and at the cornerstone of our approach to social development, educated women are more likely to become active and influential members of their communities.
The education of women is an international development priority. UNESCO estimates “130 million girls between the age of 6 and 17 are out of school and 15 million girls of primary-school age—half of them in sub-Saharan Africa— will never enter a classroom.”
In the poverty-stricken areas of India and Cambodia where we work, women face significant barriers to education. Often they are up against having to travel long distances to school, restrictive gender narratives, violence, and trafficking and/or migration.
We combine advocacy efforts with the provision of access to education, university level scholarships, and assistance to ensure young Indian and Cambodian women finish locally unprecedented levels of education and/or skill training. We provide seminars and mentoring that emphasize skills and development that prepare young women to be catalysts of profound shifts in their communities.
