Girls Ed News

6/9/2009 12:00:00 AM

Girls Ed has experienced some exciting growth this past year. In addition to this fabulous new website, we now have two new board members (still looking for more), funding for the Liberia project through spring 2010, and a quarterly newsletter.

Scholarship Program helps 11-year-old Liberian

The youngest child in the joint Girls Education International-Common Ground Society Liberia Scholarship Program, 11-year-old Jennie Flomo expected to drop out of school by third grade. The burden of school fees overwhelmed her family. Like her older sister, she would instead sell small condiments door-to-door or at the market, do laundry, find firewood, and cook.

The CGS Project Manager in Liberia, Emily Sherman-Davis, met Jennie at the Methodist School while doing the assessment and selection of the girls in Bong County, April 2008.

“On my way outside the building I met Jennie, a shy little girl in an worn-out dress outside the verandah,” Sherman-Davis says. “She walked up to me, greeted me with her head bowed, and asked: ‘Are you the woman that has come with the scholarships?’”

That day, Jennie had come to school to register, despite the fact that she wasn’t sure if her parents could pay the school fees. When she heard Sherman-Davis was in town, she asked for help.

“It is not a normal thing for a young person to easily approach an older person and make a request,” she explains. Moved and impressed, Sherman-Davis approved Jennie’s scholarship. When Jennie personally received her acceptance letter, Sherman-Davis says, “She ran up and down the school campus exclaiming, ‘I am so happy I want to run home and tell my parents that I got a scholarship that will pay my fees!’”

Jennie is now in Grade four and is among the first three students in her class. Her second period average is 85 (B+).

Please check out our blog (www.girlseducationinternational.blogspot.com) for photos of our Liberian girls.

Grant finished, grantors needed
In December, GEI co-founder Lizzy Scully finalized a grant proposing the expansion of the GEI-CGS Liberia Scholarship Program. The program currently provides school fees to 47 girls in the mountainous regions of Liberia. The proposed grant seeks to garner funds to provide a total of 50 girls in Bong and Margibi counties with scholarships, stipends for uniforms, books, ID cards, a daily meal, and an after school Reproductive Health Education Program. GEI is currently searching for donor organizations and foundations that might be interested in supporting this expansion.

GEI welcomes new board member
A mediator and facilitator for Colorado-based CDR Associates, Jennifer Graham brings a wealth of experience to GEI. In addition to earning an M.S. at Cornell University in natural resources and receiving two Ford Foundation Fellowships, she has spent four years with the Peace Corps and the German Technical Cooperation in Malawi, Africa. She has both a command of Chitumbuka (a Bantu language) and an understanding of non-governmental organization work. Additionally, she facilitated the creation of Liberia’s first trans-boundary Peace Park with its neighbors in Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire in the Nimba region of the country.

In other news…

2009 year-end giving letter a huge success
GEI brought in nearly $2,000 with its year-end giving letter, including a $500 donation from Jacqui Hudson. Additionally, we received a $2,500 donation from Laura Molinari. Thanks to these ladies alone, we can pay for two entire semesters of the Liberia Scholarship Program. A huge thank you to all our donors! If you would like to donate, please visit our site (http://www.girlsed.org/Donate.htm). It costs just $71 to pay for one Liberian girl to go to school.

GEI’s new and improved website!
As GEI evolves and progresses, we feel our website should reflect these changes. Built by Mick Follari and the Trakkware team (www.trakkware.com), the new site retains its design, but will be moved to an easy-to-update content management system. Check the Web site www.girlsed.org in late May to view our updates.

Girls Ed welcomes three new volunteers
Over the past six months, three new volunteers joined the GEI team. Jancy Quinn is working on the five-year marketing plan and is responsible for the new logo. Stephanie Maltarich is providing valuable assistance with the newsletter. Luisa Giles is searching for potential donors and/or partners to support GEI projects.