Study Camp and One-to-One Sponsorships

Our students are so excited that it’s June because that means – Study Camp is back in session! We almost cancelled camp this year to make sure we could cover other education costs (e.g., post-secondary education for our secondary school grads). But the students, parents and our teachers put out the rally cry and reminded us how important and valuable the camp is to our students. We were reminded that the camp contributes not only to their language and academic skills, but also their characters and their bond with one another.

Peer Instruction during Homework Hour

In camp this summer, we have 16 students from Form 4 and three from Form 3. (Our students are studying alongside 16 Project Wezesha students.) Our girls in Form 4 will be taking their high stakes national exams in October, so this camp is crucial for them. Our study camp teachers are hard-working, dedicated educators and they put all their energy into making sure the students are prepared for the exams.

Of course, the students put in a lot of hard work, too. After a full morning of teacher-led sessions, they return after lunch for afternoon student-led discussions and study time. They tell us time and again that knowing that all of us (that means you!) are supporting them gives them the motivation to put in the effort required to be successful. (See photos of students during afternoon discussion sessions.)

Success Among our Form 4 Graduates

We had a number of Form 4 girls who completed their national exams last fall. From that cohort, Edasta and Nasra will be going to high school this year. The other girls are eager to enroll in training college and have already selected their focus areas. Of course, this comes with additional expenses and so we really need your help to continue supporting these young women!

Launching a One-to-One Sponsorship Program

We are hoping to identify 8 Girls Ed supporters who would consider a one-to-one sponsorship of a girl through her post-secondary education. This would require making the generous commitment to fully fund 1 or both years of a student’s certificate program. If you would be interested, contact us at info@girlsed.org and let us know so that we can pair you with a girl in need. We would love to facilitate communication between you and the student you are supporting so that you can know how her studies are going and how much your support means.

We have created this page on our website to introduce the girls and the programs they are pursuing, which range from hotel management and tailoring to nursery school education and tourism. As each girl is paired, we will update the site to show who is still seeking support. The cost of most of the girls' programs is $333 USD per year for 2 years. Adija, who hopes to pursue nursing requires $560 per year for 2 years.

Why Girls Education Matters

Whether you commit to a student for two years, one year, or even make a one-time donation today, we are extremely grateful for your ongoing support of the important work we’re doing. Plain and Simple – Educating Girls Matters!

As a reminder, from UNICEF: 

“The yields from investing in girls’ education are substantial. An educated girl is likely to increase her personal earning potential, as well as reduce poverty in her community. According to the World Bank, the return on one year of secondary education for a girl correlates with as high as a 25% increase in wages later in life. The effects carry from one generation to the next: educated girls have fewer, healthier and better educated children. For each additional year of a mother’s education, the average child attains an extra 0.32 years, and for girls the benefit is slightly larger.”

UNESCO also notes the following benefits to educating a girl child:

1. Future Educated Generations 

2. Decreased Infant Mortality

3. Decreased Maternal Mortality

4. Decreased Child Marriage

5. Decreased Population Explosion

6. Increased Involvement in Political Process

7. Decreased Domestic & Sexual Violence

8. Decreased Support for Militancy

9. Improved Socioeconomic Growth

Please share our work with friends and family. Use your personal interest in this cause to encourage others to join us. 

From Summer Camps to Fall Fundraising

Greetings and Gratitude! We at Girls Ed hope that you had a fabulous summer and are ready for the transition into Fall. For many of us, this means 'back to school' -- but in Tanzania, this means the end of the school year is approaching. It also means that national exams are on the horizon for many of our students.

We'd like to share a few updates from this past summer! First - let me make a big shout out to Lucas and Madaga, our dedicated in-country program managers for all of their hard work throughout the year! We could do nothing without them! Asanta sana, ndugu zangu!

Study Camp - June 2017

Our study camp was excellent this year! We had a record number of students - girls from Form 1, 2, 3, and 4. We joined fellow students from Project Wezesha - boys and girls in Forms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Our Form 6 students - Dibeit, Tumsifu and Saidi - were helping us out as teachers. They taught Biology, Chemistry, and Math respectively. It's so wonderful to have them in the classroom in this capacity - paying it forward.

We had many teachers from Kichangachui Secondary School - teaching their core subjects to our girls. We also had a teacher from Amahoro Secondary School, Monica who came in from Mwandiga every day to teach Biology. The girls really enjoyed having two women teachers this year - Monica and Fedha, who taught Kiswahili. We're very grateful to the teachers who gave their time and really motivated our students to give their all during this 4-week intensive camp. We were able to offer them salaries for their work thanks to your support!

My colleague from St. Michael's College, Katie and I taught English classes to Form 1, 2, and 3 students. We had the opportunity to get creative with class time. We introduced the students to many communicative activities that are quite unlike the traditional, teacher-centered approaches they are used to. They enjoyed the variety and impressed us with how much they had to say in English on a range of topics. Here is a snapshot of two activities we did with them. Make sure to click the links and check out the videos of them in action.

Activity - Running Dictation

In our last report, we shared about the fun time our students had on our field trip to Gombe. This video shows them back in the classroom doing a running dictation activity based on a text about Gombe National Park. In teams of four, students choose a person to be the 'runner', a person to be the 'scribe', a person to be the 'reader',  and a person to assist with reporting and editing. The runner runs across the classroom where a reader reads from a short text. The runner remembers as much as she can and then reports to her team. The scribe writes what she hears and the assistant helps correct spelling and check for missing words. When teams are finished, we read the text aloud and they check their work. Activities following this one build on the text -- we worked with new vocabulary, comprehension, and did some additional communicative tasks to let students talk about their trip to Gombe. As you can see in the video, they loved it!

Activity - Concentric Circles Interview

Another activity the girls really enjoyed was a mix and mingle activity to let them practice speaking in English without a focus on accuracy (rather fluency). Students form two circles with the inner circle facing the outer circle. They shake hands to make sure each has a partner, then we give them questions to discuss. They each take a turn responding, then the inner circle moves over one space to face a new partner. They continue in this way - discussing questions with new partners until they have talked to everyone in the circle. You can see in this video that they were using a lot of English, giggling, and enjoying class time! What more can you ask for?

Fall is for Fundraising! Launch your own Fall Fundraiser: GlobalGiving has a great tool that allows anyone to start an online fundraiser to benefit an organization of their choice. Simply visit our project page. To the right, you'll see the donation options, followed by payment options, and below that - a blue button that says "Start a Fundraiser". You can raise money in honor of someone or for an event (wedding, birthday, sporting event, etc.). Launch it and encourage friends and family to donate -- then watch your impact grow with each contribution.