See what your dollar can become

N'Gamet Sylla, a Guinean mother with six children, attended a community workshop held by School-to-School in April 2011. She learned how poorly girls were doing in the local school; it was not an issue people usually talked about. 

After the two day workshop N'Gamet said, "I left with new ideas. Women can play an important role in the social and economic development of our country if they are educated.”   She continued, “For this to happen, I think we need to support the enrollment of girls in school; follow them closely; collaborate with teachers, local leaders, and families; and support the sensitization of everyone to ensure that they support girls in finishing primary school and continue to high school."

School-to-School International uses workshops to not only gain backing for and awareness of girls’ education issues in the community, but also to help the community think up ways that they can help their girls overcome the many barriers in the way of a quality education. 

N’Gamet did not go to school; she needed this workshop to encourage her to send all six of her children to school, not just her two boys.  If she sends her daughters to school, they will not need this workshop in the future; they will know the benefits of an education first hand.  That is four women who will then send their daughters to school.  And the benefits will continue.

Start with a 12 –year-old girl….

Don’t take her out of school when she is old enough to marry.

Keep her in school until Secondary school.

You can now connect her to a decent job.

Thanks to a few extra years in school, she is bringing in an extra $2,000 a year.

She can use this money for better, nutritious food for her family.  She is significantly less likely to become infected with HIV and more likely to stay healthy through her pregnancies.  She can reinvest in livestock or a small business.  She can afford proper medical care for herself and her family. She can pay her daughters’ school fees.  She will share what she knows with her friends. 

With N’Gamet’s family alone, that is $8,000 extra dollars a year in earnings circulating in the community.  That is four women down the road who will pass on their knowledge for free. 

“Forget China, India and the internet: economic growth is driven by women.” – The Economist, April 15, 2006

Donate today and see what your dollar can become when you invest in a girl.