The Virtuous Cycle of Girls’ Education

Camfed International's project aimed to enable 269,390 marginalised girls to transition to, progress through and succeed at secondary school. It then helped them to transition from school to a secure and fulfilling livelihood. Girls that graduate from school were encouraged to lead initiatives to support girls' education within their communities and join forces with district and national authorities to drive change at a wider scale, ultimately re-setting the context for future generations of girls. Camfed International has interventions in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe that combine to create a regional ‘community of practice’.

Activities

• Learner Guide Programme where Learner Guides (local young women who are recent school graduates) provided support to improve the educational achievements of marginalised girls, expanding their life choices, and enabling them to become 'edu-preneurs'

• A life skills curriculum (My Better World) delivered by Learner Guides to improve confidence and rights awareness

• A programme of transition and learning support for post-school girls through Learner Guides which incorporated financial literacy, sexual and reproductive health education, and entrepreneurship

• Low-cost, self-study resources such as Learning to Learn in English and e-readers to directly address the major issue with English as a language of instruction

• Improved teacher motivation, engagement and the attendance through centres that accommodate teacher support, trainings and meetings

• Individualised tracking system that followed beneficiary girls through and beyond school to assess the impact of the project

• Access to Kiva loans to enable business start-ups