Press Release – Tragically, 130 million girls globally are not in school. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, up to 28 million girls do not attend school. This is why a new campaign from ONE, an advocacy organization of eight million members, is saying that “poverty is sexist”.
And they’re shouting it from the rooftops because the world will not be able to beat extreme poverty until the barriers holding women and girls back are broken down.
To try and make this happen, ONE has teamed up with Camfed and The Relate Trust to ensure as many girls as possible can go to school – because every girl has the right to an education.
ONE is a global movement of people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Camfed is an international non-profit organization tackling poverty and inequality by supporting marginalized girls to go to school, to succeed, and to lead.
South African not-for-profit social enterprise The Relate Trust makes handmade products to benefit causes around the world and to create jobs in South Africa. For this partnership, Relate has made beaded bracelets which will be sold through ONE’s online platform.
Proceeds from every bracelet sold will benefit Camfed’s work in the poorest rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Simply put, for every bracelet sold, Camfed will be able to get more girls in school.
Why girls? Camfed’s philosophy is: “When you educate a girl, everything changes”.
The sad truth is that education is not freely available globally, and often girls are the first to drop out or to be failed by the system. Access to education gives the promise of a life beyond poverty, where girls can become women who start their own businesses, have the careers they dream of, and where they can live the life they deserve.
“In South Africa, we have significant job shortages and a lack of opportunities available for young people. We empower the young people who work for us in production by putting them through training in their chosen careers beyond Relate. They receive a salary so that they can provide for themselves and their families, while working towards the future they want,” says Relate Trust CEO Neil Robinson.
“Helping young people achieve their goals is part of the core of who we are at Relate. It is startling that so many girls in sub-Saharan Africa, and the world, are lacking basic education. We believe it is our duty to try and help change that.”
Camfed has proven through their work that quality education can reap significant and long-lasting benefits for girls, and transform communities.
Since 1993, Camfed’s innovative education programs in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi have directly supported almost two million students to attend primary and secondary school, and more than four million children have benefited from an improved learning environment.
Bracelets will be sold online through ONE’s website, one.org/store. Visit camfed.org, relate.org.za, or one.org/GirlsCount to learn more. Together, we all have the power to sound the alarm on the global girls’ education crisis!
About The Relate Trust:
The Relate Trust is a proudly 100% not-for-profit social enterprise which predominantly sells handmade beaded bracelets to raise money for charities globally, while creating jobs for people in low income communities.
In the last three years alone, Relate has raised more than R26million for causes in health, education, conservation, social upliftment, and children’s and women’s empowerment, while raising close to R50million since it became a Trust in 2010.
For more information on The Relate Trust, please visit http://www.relate.org.za/
