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Women’s Global Education Project was founded on the idea that everyone is entitled to an education, regardless of gender or economic status. UNICEF estimates that worldwide, some 117 million school-aged children do not attend school, 62 million of them girls. Attendance rates are lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 57 percent of girls are in school, and just 15 percent of these go on to secondary school. Women’s Global believes that universal education, gender equality and empowerment of women are critical to a society’s development. Our mission is to provide access to education and to develop training programs that empower women and girls to build better lives and foster equitable communities. Women’s Global was founded in March of 2003 by Amy Maglio, a returned U.S. Peace Corps volunteer to Senegal, West Africa. While living in a rural community with a Senegalese family, Amy became an advocate for girls’ education. She helped her village sister Khady enroll in school for the first time, providing financial support and also promoting the value of Khady’s education to her family. Khady excelled in school, learned to read and write, and finished primary school. Now, through a scholarship provided by Women’s Global, Khady is pursuing her ambitions and is studying to become a nurse. If Khady did not attend school, she would be like most girls her age in Senegal and across Africa. In Senegal 65 percent of women age 15 and up cannot read and write. Khady’s success, together with the extremely low number of educated girls in Africa, inspired Amy to start an organization dedicated to helping women and girls get the education and training they need to help themselves. Women's Global implements our programs through strong partnerships with local in-country organizations to ensure that our work is community-driven, sustainable and appropriate to the actual needs of our target communities.
Adji Senghor, Women's Global Senegal Project Coordinator In facilitating Sisters to School in Senegal, Women’s Global partners with Union Democratique Des Ensiegnantes de Senegal (UDEN), a 20-year-old national organization of Senegalese primary and secondary school teachers dedicated to supporting education and the teaching profession throughout Senegal. In particular, Women’s Global works with the UDEN branch in the geographic Department of Foundgioune along the western coast. Women’s Global also works with UDEN subgroup Commission Permanente des Femmes, which focuses on women’s issues in education, helps enroll and support girls in school, and assists girls who do not pass their grade-level exams to find vocational training and opportunities. Aniceta Kiriga, Women's Global Kenya Project Coordinator In Kenya, Women’s Global is allied with Ntanira Na Mugambo Tharaka Women’s Welfare Project (TWWP), a community organization dedicated to improving the living status and condition of women and girls in Kenya’s Tharaka/Meru region. TWWP was established in 1995 with the aim of eradicating female genital mutilation in Eastern Province and was the first such program in Kenya. To date, TWWP has helped more than 2,500 girls and their families to say “No!” to female genital mutilation.
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