Just one third of girls from rural areas complete secondary school
Poverty, forced marriage, and pregnancy are all obstacles that are pushing girls to drop out of school. And with financial hardships caused by Covid-19 on families, girls are facing increased pressures. Many have turned to leaving school and working to support their families.
Another huge obstacle is the lack of opportunities for girls in specific subjects including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Because of this, a generation of girls are being left behind.
That is why we are launching #girlPOWER today and we need your help
£29
could provide a classroom with essential teaching and learning materials so that young children stay in school and can have brighter futures
£60
could support six girls to attend a Child Rights Club to learn about their rights and how to stand up for them
£104
could support one girl to attend a STEM club and have the opportunity to fulfil her potential
The problem
While Ghana has seen rapid improvements in girls’ access to education in recent years, there are still major challenges with girls completing education beyond a primary level.
Poverty, forced marriage, and pregnancy are all obstacles that are pushing girls to drop out of school. And with financial hardships caused by Covid-19 on families, girls are facing increased pressures. Many have turned to leaving school and working to support their families.
Further, there is little opportunity for girls to pursue STEM subjects. Preventing them from fulfilling their potential to help drive sustainable socioeconomic development.
Ghana is faced with 12% youth unemployment and more than 50% underemployment. Skills in STEM-related fields offer a viable solution to unemployment.
With your help, we can address the needs of young girls to ensure that they stay in school and empower them to become a new generation of trailblazing women in STEM!
“In the process of encouraging girls to go to school, the system thought: ‘let’s make the schools attractive in the lines of things that girls did at that time. Let’s introduce them to home economics, nursing, and cooking.’ We took traditional gender roles and moved them into the formal education system. And now we wonder where the girls are in STEM. We got it wrong and it is now our responsibility to fix that.”
Dinah Adiko, Gender and Inclusion specialist, and Technical Committee member of Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition
How we'll help fix it
Living in poverty can make it impossible for families to keep their children healthy, safe and in school, even when they want the best for them. We help families in rural communities grow small businesses to lift themselves out of poverty and give their children happier childhoods and brighter futures.
Sustainable change can only happen with community support and understanding. We work with children, parents, community members, traditional leaders and authorities to build understanding and support for every child’s right to be healthy, safe and in school.
Working with local education, child protection and health providers, we ensure that even the most vulnerable children have access to quality services and the support they need to thrive. We inspire girls to stay in school through opportunities like STEM by upskilling teachers, expanding STEM clubs that provide hands-on learning, and linking members with role models working within STEM industries
AfriKids UK Head Office:
AfriKids, Unit G05,
The Record Hall,
16-16A Baldwin's Gardens,
London,
EC1N 7RJ
AfriKids Ghana Head Office:
PO Box 166
Bolgatanga
Upper East Region
Ghana
Registered charity in England and Wales: 1141028
Registered NGO in Ghana: DSW/3024
Registered in The Netherlands. Tax no: 8238.13.289
