In sub-Saharan Africa, 81% of boys get enrolled at primary school compared to only 77% of girls.
Though many governments are committed to providing equal education for girls, in practice girls are more likely to drop out of school than boys.
The reasons for girls’ lower enrolment in primary and secondary schooling include:
- The tendency of poor families to spend available money (needed for school fees or the costs of books and uniforms) on the education of boys, because males are viewed as the future breadwinner -the expectation that girls will carry out domestic and household work
- the pressure in some cultures for girls to marry young, particularly where they are seen as an economic burden on families
- the lack of separate toilet facilities for girls in many schools.
The Girl-child Empowerment therefore aims at providing educational scholarships to bright and promising disadvantaged girls to further their education. The program will also have an on-going mentoring program that provides mentorship to disadvantaged teenage girls under Olaforent’s Girl-Child Empowerment and support program in Uganda.
The fund will give bright girls an opportunity to further their education and develop life skills up to college and university level. The seeds of quality education will bear fruit in breaking the cycle of illiteracy, poverty and will bring about development for the community where the children live as well as country as a whole.
The scholarships will be given to disadvantaged girls seeking to complete secondary school education and pursue professional courses at national colleges/universities in Uganda, as well as those seeking to pursue skills and vocational studies in various fields for example crafts and drum making.
