This year’s Giving Tuesday was particularly significant for Give Girls A Chance as it coincided with our 4-year anniversary. It gave us an opportunity to pause, reflect and take stock of how far we have come. We started out supporting one girl, Amina, whose story as an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) affected by the Boko Haram crisis, moved us to action. Since then, we have supported over 100 girls and young women by providing them with scholarships that have allowed them to return to or remain enrolled in schools and linking them to mentors who invest time in building up their psychosocial wellbeing. Through our various programs and initiatives — including our Women’s Day Event, Essay Competition, and Menstrual Hygiene Awareness Program — we have reached over 2,000 girls to provide information, support, sanitary kits and other resources aimed at improving the overall wellbeing of the Nigerian girl-child.
The COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on the lives of Nigerian girls. The closure of schools in March meant that many of the girls in our programs had to put their education on hold. Given the economic tolls on the families of these girls, there was grave concern about whether they would be able to return once schools reopened. Give Girls A Chance played its part by providing relief kits to girls and their families during the pandemic. The kits included masks, reading material, rice, beans and cooking oil for the family. When schools finally reopened in November, we were able to ensure that ALL of our girls were able to return to school safely and resume learning.
Seeing the pure joy the girls felt at being able to return to school, to be reunited with their peers and resume learning, has inspired us to work towards empowering even more girls to return to school following the pandemic. Thus, on Giving Tuesday, we launched a new campaign, “Girl, Empowered” with the goal of raising $10,000 to empower an additional 100 girls and young women to return to school and continue learning for the next two years. In 24 hours, we raised over $2,500 from over 20 individuals across 3 continents!
We are truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support. The support that we have received on Giving Tuesday and over the past 4 years continues to motivate and encourage us to work tirelessly on behalf of the Nigerian girl child. We truly believe that education is the single most powerful investment that can be made into the life of the girl child. And the research backs this up. Educated girls:
Earn more
Marry later
Have fewer children
Less likely to die in childbirth
Have healthier children (more likely to vaccinate)
Less likely to have malnourished children
Invest in future generations and their communities
Experience less discrimination
Make their own decisions
Are safe
With this in mind, we’re excited to extend the “Girl, Empowered” campaign through December 31. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to work to reach our goal to support an additional 100 girls for the next two years. We invite you to join us on the journey to transform the lives of the girls and young women through improved access to quality education. Visit this page to learn more about the “Girl, Empowered” campaign and donate today.
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