Girls Education International
The mission of Girls Education International is to expand and support educational opportunities for under-served females in remote and undeveloped regions of the world.
We envision a world where educational opportunities for women and girls are equal to those typically afforded boys and men, and thus provide the foundation for healthier and prosperous societies that reflect their unique cultural differences.
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GEI announces new project in Pakistan and new partner NGO, Bedari
12/16/2009 12:00:00 AM
Girls Education International (GEI) is excited to announce the implementation of a new educational project inPakistan. After three long years of stalled efforts due to political chaos in the region, we have finally vetted and are partnering with the Pakistani-based womens’ rights organization, Bedari ( www.bedari.org ). We will support a scholarship model for girls’ education that Bedari developed, to be implemented in the remote village of Laphi.
Laphi, a town of 3,500 located in the northern mountains of the Salt Range in the Punjab province, does not have a secondary school. Though one lies just five miles away in a neighboring village, most Laphi villagers can’t afford to pay for the travel costs and school fees for both their girl and boy children. And because a girls’ education is undervalued, only boys typically attend school. Thus, most of the village women are married in their late teens, illiterate, and have little to no education beyond primary school.
Girls Education International is partnering with Bedari to provide many of Laphi’s girls with the opportunity to attend secondary school. With a group of village volunteers and elders overseeing the project, administrative support from Bedari, and financial support from GEI, these girls will have the opportunity to better their lives and improve the health and economies of their communities. As former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated: "There is no tool for development more effective than the education of girls. No other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity, lower infant andmaternal mortality, improve nutrition, and promote health ...”
Please support Girls Education International’s goal of raising $5,000 by the end of 2009 to fund our new Pakistani program as well as to support our continued efforts in Liberia and Nepal. Your generous donation means that one child like Rifat (see sidebar) can escape thecycle of poverty and help uplift her entire community.
