read profiles of Free The Children girls.

AT HOME   AROUND THE WORLD
 
Talia, Canada   Williter, Kenya
     
 
Maryn, Canada   Ruth, Kenya
     
 
Nelly Furtado, Canada   Sheila, Kenya
     
     
 
Shannon, Canada   Jezula Anis, Haiti
     
 
Kate, Canada   Mama Jane, Kenya
     
 
Hannah, USA   Mamas in Kenya
     
 
Joanna, Canada   Maria
     
   
Tamara, UK    
     
   
Zoe, Canada    
     
     
In developing communities around the world, girls have unique challenges in accessing education, staying healthy and breaking free of poverty—but they also provide hope for change more than any other group. In Free The Children's work around the world, one thing transcends borders: the power of a girl to create positive change.

THE LOT OF THE GIRL CHILD IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

  • Women and girls are typically responsible for food preparation, care of animals, care of the sick, crop irrigation, cleaning, washing and waste disposal
  • The daily chore of collecting water takes millions of girls out of the classroom, and after long hours spent walking with heavy loads, there is little energy left for study
  • About one in 10 school-age girls in Africa drop out once they reach puberty because they don't have clean or private washrooms to use at school
  • In many places young girls are forced to leave school in order to enter into early marriage and pregnancy and bring income to their families

FREE THE CHILDREN'S SUPPORT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS

  • Free The Children attaches water projects to each of the schools and schoolrooms we build. Not only are girls able to collect water on their way home from class, this ensures families are drinking clean water instead of contaminated river water.
  • Our alternative income projects provide financial literacy training and empower women to sustainably contribute to family income, through bee keeping, animal husbandry, women's circles and more.
  • Our mother-child health clinics provide girls and women with health care and health education, helping to reduce maternal and infant mortality and disability and to stop the spread of diseases.

SPOTLIGHT ON KENYA: Our first all-girls secondary school, the Kisaruni Girls' Secondary School allows young Maasai and Kipsigis women to continue their education beyond middle school, empowering them to create positive change within their communities and become role models and visionary leaders. Learn more here.

SPOTLIGHT ON ECUADOR: Through Free The Children Girls' Clubs, Ecuadorian girls come together for workshops on human rights, self esteem and leadership, sharing perspectives and ideas, building strong bonds with each other and working together on income-generating projects. Learn more here.

                 
               
       
                 
Out of the world's 130 million out-of-school youth, 70 percent are girls.   AIDS spreads twice as quickly among uneducated girls as among girls who have received even some schooling.   Two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults are women.   When a woman has at least a secondary education, her children are twice as likely to survive as children born to less educated mothers.   When women and girls earn income, they typically reinvest 90 percent of it into their families.