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former first lady Michelle Obama New impetus is being put behind efforts to help girls overcome educational barriers in some of the world’s most economically disadvantaged regions.
The Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance pledged Saturday to raise $2.5 million for dozens of grassroots groups that advance teen girls’ education by covering school-related costs, challenging patriarchal practices like child marriage, mentoring sexual abuse survivors and providing other types of support.
“These groups are changing the way girls see themselves in their communities and our world, helping us create the leaders we need for a brighter future,” Obama said in a video released on October 11, the International Day of the Girl. “Because when our girls succeed, we all succeed.”
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, about three-quarters of the 119 million out-of-school girls worldwide are secondary school-aged. The Girls Opportunity Alliance – the result of an Obama White House initiative that invested $1 billion in U.S. government programs promoting teen girls’ education abroad – launched in 2018 with a focus on helping the population between the ages of 10-19 years old graduate from high school.
But the latest announcement comes amid dire warnings from international aid groups that recent progress will be undermined by budget cuts. UNICEF estimates that a 24% drop in global education funding to rich countries could push six million girls out of school by the end of next year.
“I think the need is more critical now than ever,” said Tiffany, executive director of the Girls Opportunity Alliance. Fly Said. “We were just in mauritius And we’ve heard it again and again that organizations need money. They need support.”
The Girls Opportunity Alliance event in Mauritius in early October brought together Asian And African Members of its network. The great demands of local leaders working tirelessly with little resources made it, in Drake’s view, perhaps the most inspiring gathering he had ever organized.
But Jackie Bomboma, founder of the Young Strong Mothers Foundation in Tanzania, said connecting with other powerful women there gave her the knowledge that she was not alone. A recipient of GOA’s latest grants, she said the Obama Foundation’s support not only provides financial support, but also increases confidence from the international community and provides additional channels for obtaining resources.
Having grown up without a mother and surviving teenage pregnancy, Bomboma said Obama’s example has instilled confidence in herself and the girls she serves. Her nonprofit provides psychological services, vocational training, entrepreneurship skills development, and sexual health lessons to hundreds of girls at risk of child marriage, teen pregnancy, and school dropout.
“We call ourselves ‘Watoto wa Michelle Obama,’ which means ‘Children of Michelle Obama,'” he said. “So, everyone is very proud to have a mother who is very strong, who is very powerful and who is very loving.”
The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund is intentionally designed to provide a variety of supports. Drake said anyone can apply for up to $50,000. The grant does not support general operations, but rather goes toward a specific project outlined by the recipient.
Once they join the network, community leaders have access to monthly training sessions, online and in-person gatherings, where they share strategies and learn from larger NGOs like UNICEF and Save the Children.
Girls Opportunity Alliance funds an undisclosed amount and then uses its broad reach to help organizations raise the remaining funds on GoFundMe pages. Campaigns are publicly promoted on its social media accounts and throughout its donor network of celebrities and corporations.
According to Drake, the idea was to use his “megaphone” to draw additional attention and garner more support to organizations that often struggle to survive in more remote locations. Girls Opportunity Alliance hopes to inspire people to join them every day.
“We didn’t want to just tell people and say, ‘Google how can you help,'” Drake said. “We wanted to give them a place where they could take action.”
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