from National Geographic’s Digital Diversity series
Penelop directing her film. (Photo: Camfed)
The ability – and courage – to tell our own stories is one of the most powerful tools we possess. But in some of the world’s poorest communities, men and women – but especially women — can struggle to make their voices heard. To amend this power imbalance and to help amplify their voices, Camfed – a charity that provides education for young girls in rural Africa – began training some as filmmakers.
Dear Friends,
I’m thrilled to share that today’s New York Times coverage in the lead up to International Women’s Day focused on Camfed, with an extensive article on our work.
David Bornstein, award-winning writer, describes the way that Camfed works hand-in-hand with communities to send girls to school. Every day, more than 90,000 community activists in rural Africa are putting tremendous energy into improving the lives of children in their communities.
Please share this article through email, blogs, and Tweets, and join a global movement to create a more equitable world for girls and women, on a day that is dedicated to their empowerment.
Warm regards,
Ann Cotton, OBE
Executive Director
Camfed International
NEW YORK–Premier global law firm Linklaters LLP and leading international development organization Camfed (Campaign for Female Education) today announced a Commitment to Action as part of their participation in the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting in New York this week. Through its commitment and membership in CGI, Linklaters will launch a second phase of its pro bono relationship with Camfed to raise awareness within the NGO, government and private sectors of the issues of governance, transparency and accountability as keys to the economic and social empowerment of the disenfranchised, particularly women and girls. This Commitment to Action aligns with Linklaters’ efforts to help provide innovative solutions towards the achievement of one or more United Nations Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015. The Commitment to Action by Linklaters and Camfed was selected by CGI organizers to be featured at a Commitment Announcement Ceremony on September 23, 2010 during CGI’s Annual Meeting. (more…)
2010 Clinton Global Initiative Commitment will benefit more than one million people
Katherine Baldwin’s article, “New Report Could Help Create Model of Best Practice for Aid World,” published on AlertNet and TrustLaw today, discusses the partnership between Camfed and the global law firm Linklaters to produce an analysis of Camfed’s governance model, Accounting to the Girl.
For their research, the pro bono Linklaters team visited schools in remote areas and government ministries in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi to interview girls, parents, teachers, government officials and village leaders to see how Camfed’s model works in practice and is introduced in a new country (Malawi).
Baldwin quotes Camfed founder Ann Cotton who said, “Often times in this sector there’s a great sense of accountability to the donors. Camfed sees itself in partnership with donors, with accountability for both parties to the child. That’s a different – not unique – but a very different way of thinking and acting and really it’s that debate we now want to generate.”
Read the full article here or here.
Follow finance guru Alvin Hall as he travels to rural Zambia to meet some of the girls and women who are benefiting from Camfed’s work. Part of an eight-week TV series focused on social entrepreneurship, the Camfed episode of “Alvin Hall’s Guide to Good Business” will air on BBC World News on March 27th and 28th. The series, produced by RockhopperTV in partnership with the Skoll Foundation, features Alvin Hall visiting social entrepreneurs and their projects around the world.
In Zambia, Alvin meets children, community members, and businesswoman Gift Namuchimba, who proudly gives him a tour of the house she built for her family. He also visits a group of girls who leave school each year during the caterpillar season to earn money for educational supplies and fees. “It’s ironic,” Alvin remarks, “that these girls must leave school in order to stay in school.”
By supporting a girl’s full education, you will help ensure that she is never forced to miss classes, or to drop out of education for good. Camfed scholarships provide girls with everything they need to stay in school and succeed.
The Camfed documentary will air on the BBC around the world this week. Please take 30 minutes of your time to watch it! Here’s the broadcast schedule:
In the U.K.: March 27th at 01:30am and 08:30am and March 28th at 3:30 pm and 9:30 pm
In Africa, the US, and worldwide: Get a full schedule by time zone here.
To learn more about social entrepreneurship, visit The Skoll Foundation.
Join our mailing list! Each sign-up earns a girl in Africa a year’s worth of pencils.
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