education for girls

why build a school for girls?

Currently only 1% of Tanzanian girls complete secondary school.

We know that educating children, and girls in particular, has a profound effect on reducing global poverty. Click here to read about our latest project, Milembe Girls School.

Tanzania is among the world’s poorest countries. Serious drought drastically reduces the food supply, and children often go hungry. It is common for school-age children, especially girls, to look after siblings, bring water home from local wells, cook for the family, clean the family home, and help with farming. 

Girls in particular face serious obstacles on the road to education—and we mean this literally—including everything from families who privilege the education of sons over daughters, to girls being married off at young ages. For many girls, the journey to school is not safe. A lack of infrastructure means walking for hours on unpaved roads to get to school.  Assault is not uncommon. Despite these challenges, girls are determined to make the journey. It is clear that girls’ access to education and independence is tenuous.

A UNESCO report from September 2013 revealed the following staggering statistics: 

• 1 in 8 girls is married by age 18 in sub-Saharan Africa
• 1 in 7 girls has given birth by the age of 17
• secondary education for girls reduces child marriages by 64%
• secondary education for girls reduces early birth by 59%
• in the United Republic of Tanzania, a secondary education reduces extreme poverty by 60%