Empowered women and educated girls hold the keys to local, national, and global wellbeing. Consider the following: 129 million girls are out of school worldwide and 54% are in crisis affected countries; over 380 million girls live in poverty; 1 in 7 girls in developing countries marries before the age of 15; between 25 - 50% of girls in developing countries become mothers before the age of 18; gender inequity is a major cause of hunger and poverty with 60% of women experiencing chronic hunger.
On the flip side, when a girl is educated through secondary school she’ll bring 25% more income to her family, when a woman in the developing world receives 7 more years of education, she marries 4 years later and has 2.2 fewer children. Finally, women invest 90% of their incomes into their families, generating a powerful return on investment (men invest 30-40%). Taken together, according to Melinda Gates, “when we invest in women. we invest in the people who invest in everyone else.”
Enter Women Changemakers for Education (www.change4ed.org) with its unique approach to women’s leadership and empowerment. Through our two-year Fellowship program, we connect up-and-coming female leaders in education with training, micro-grants, mentorship, and a network of peer support and collaboration. We have developed and delivered a curriculum that is specifically tailored to the training needs of the Fellows including ethical leadership, personal and professional branding, pitching, impact measurement, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, storytelling, cross program collaboration, proposal writing, fundraising, bookkeeping, accounting, and board development among others. Through our micro-grants program, we have distributed over $20,000 and have reached over 72,00 people through community libraries, school construction, economic initiatives, inclusion programs, girls’ education programs and more.
It’s the leadership factor that truly matters and the ultimate indicator of success is in the words of WC4E Alumna Grace Amponsah: “What is really exciting about Women Changemakers for Education is its focus on female leadership. When you educate a woman, you educate a whole nation, and this program is going to have a multiplier effect!”
Please watch this WC4E Introduction Video https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YIjq4KiX3-jqPhM8q4E4Vl9vSEMNwPU2/view?usp=sharing to be inspired by the words of our Founder Constance Kane, Board member, Tawiah Agyarko-Kwarteng, and Aluma, Grace Amponsah!
Also, follow us on Instagram (https://instagram.com/change4ed?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-changemakers-for-education/) to stay up to date on our progress!