Girl Child Education Fund

The Florence Nightingale International Foundation, founded in 1927 and registered in the UK, is the charitable arm of the International Council of Nurses. In 2005, FNIF launched the Girl Child Education Fund, with the mission of supporting access to education for the orphaned daughters of nurses in developing countries. Why daughters and not sons? Regrettably, when tragedy hits a family, it is highly likely that it will be the girls that are taken out of education. GCEF was a response by the nursing community to support the objectives of the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, which put education for girls and women high on the agenda. In 2012, the UN drew attention to the fact that there were still 31 million of girls out of school. In response to this sad fact, FNIF decided to expand its support of the GCEF, and to actively seek donations and additional sponsorship, through the FNIF Endowment Fund. GCEF is different to most charities. It has an army of direct support on the ground; they are called nurses. Each GCEF beneficiary is supported by a nurse-mentor, who will provide assistance and guidance throughout the girl’s education, and of course frequently way beyond. As a result, GCEF is highly successful, as demonstrated by the table below.