We paid our WEAPON beneficiaries a visit this month and found them working hard and full of gratitude and smiles! Some of them are preparing to graduate thanks to the scholarships you helped provide and some of them get to stay in school.
As we continue to help fund the educations of these 20 girls, we are reminded that only 4% of Nigerian girls in the secondary school age group are enrolled in secondary school due to poverty. Studies have found that more girls than boys drop out, repeat grades, or do not finish the primary cycle. So, there is still work to be done and many more girls who need our support.
We have already done so much but we can do better. Did you know that a 0.3 percent boost in economic growth results from a one-percent increase in the number of girls finishing secondary school? Keeping girls educated and getting just even basic education can have such a huge impact! We are making a difference. Lets not stop here. Help us continue to grow the scholarship fund and increase the number of girls we sponsor for the coming year.
You support has made for some very happy girls. Check out these smiles!
Thank you to all of those who supported W.E.A.P.O.N during GlobalGiving’s global open challenge last fall. Because of your support we were able to raise enough money to provide scholarships for 20 girls for one year of secondary school and counting. This is a huge success. Since then our one person team in Agbogugu has been busy at work hand selecting the girls most in need of funding to enter, continue, or complete secondary school. Now that the initial process is complete we are headed to Nigeria to meet our beneficiaries and tell you their stories!
20 girls is a great start but it is just the beginning. As this project continues we hope to be able to keep supporting more and more girls to go to and complete secondary school. So, your support is vital as we progress and develop new initiatives.
Support our project on GlobalGiving!!!
http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/weapon/
LOS ANGELES, April 20 (Reuters)
By Jill Serjeant
A group of African first ladies began a two-day meeting in Los Angeles on Monday to forge U.S. partnerships to try to improve health and education of women and girls in African communities afflicted by AIDS.
The wives of the presidents and prime ministers of Kenya, Nigeria, Angola, Zambia, Cameroon and 10 other nations teamed up with U.S. health experts, nonprofit groups and a clutch of celebrities to promote their work. Read more
