Bringing education to girls in Africa is the mission of Change Her World, and they currently have 150 kids enrolled in school in Malawi, and are working to improve access to education for girls. They were recently in Yorkton to educate people on the work they do.
Co-founder Linda Willis says the project began after studying the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country, and the thing that left the biggest impression was the gender inequality in the country, and the difficulty in their lives. Willis says they spent four years researching how they could get involved in the country's education in order to not only help, but do it effectively.
"We read through volumes of research... Everything points to educating the girls as being the best way to break the cycle of poverty. She will be able to provide for herself and her family, but if she stays in school she will marry later... There are so many girls married off when they're 13 or 14 years old because they don't see any other hope for them... Because she's educated she will make sure her kids are educated, she'll make sure they get proper healthcare, there will be less infant and maternal mortality rates, it will just be a win-win."
Access to education is more than just school, Willis says, as poverty means that many basic essentials are lacking in the region where they work. They provide students with clothing, mosquito netting to combat malaria, a solar lamp, bicycles, sanitary protection and medical care. She notes that as they worked, they discovered things they did not anticipate being essential to get girls educated. She says that the poverty means that even basics are often not available.
"The reason a lot of these kids come to school is because they will get fed at noon hour. You have 100s of kids showing up, but not a lot of resources... There is so much need, we're even building a little bridge, because in the spring when the rains come the parents won't send their kids to school because the river swells and it's too dangerous."
The goal of the evening was to educate people on what was being accomplished in Africa, how essential it is to educate the girls in the country.
"As Canadians we are so lucky, I don't think people realize that we're in the minority, we're in the one or two per cent of the world that lives like this."
To learn more about what they do visit www.changeheroworld.ca.
