Thank you for helping to make sure no girl is left behind
Only one in four girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete secondary school.
Girls like Florence were forced to leave school. With no education, they had no chance of finding work and they found themselves stuck in the cycle of poverty with no way out.
This is what happens when girls in sub-Saharan Africa are left behind.
More than 50% of children in Kenya are living in poverty, and girls continue to be forced out of school there.1
In Mozambique, only 39% of girls complete primary school.2 Some girls have no choice but to marry, become pregnant and face violence and abuse.
Girls like Florence and her sister Penina know all too well about the consequences of being forced out of education.
When Florence was 15 and Penina was 13, their father forced them to leave school. He was often drunk and home wasn’t safe for either of the sisters.
Their mother, who had already fled their home, urged Florence and Penina to join a VSO catch-up centre to restart their education. But, for Penina, it was too late.
She became pregnant at 13, fell ill, and died. Penina’s death was a tragic, senseless loss.
We need to protect other girls from what happened to Penina. Education is the greatest protector.
Thanks to the VSO catch-up centres in Kenya and Mozambique, girls like Florence are able to go back to education and learn reading, writing and maths.
Girls also learn valuable life skills like knowing their rights, taking control of their sexual health and setting goals for their future.
Once they’ve completed their course in the catch-up centre, many girls go on to do an apprenticeship in a chosen trade.
They’re paired up with a local community member who mentors them and teaches them how to run their own small business – they can learn anything from how to sew dresses, to mechanics.
After ten months in the catch-up centre, Florence started training as a hairdresser. Now, she’s earning a living working in a salon. She lives with her grandmother. She is safe.
We need to support more girls like Florence. Penina never got the chance for a better future, and we have to make sure no more girls are left behind. Please, donate today.
