Campaign for Female Education NYC Gala
It will be a night only New York can deliver. On May 9, 2019, A-list celebrities, business leaders and philanthropists will stand with and support new generations of educated girls who are transforming the continent of Africa.
Today we announced the date and location of our first ever Gala. The May 2019 event will celebrate the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED)’s 25th Anniversary, the 2.6 million girls we have supported to go to school, and the 120,000 young women leaders in the CAMA alumnae network now at the forefront of our movement. Together with longstanding and new partnerships we look forward to accelerating our impact, making the world a better place for all of us.
“Educating and launching 2.6 million women into successful futures is reason to celebrate. But this Gala is also about engaging new partners in the effort to replace a cycle of poverty and injustice with a cycle of opportunity and prosperity. The Gala will create a wave of support that will create change in Africa.” – Lucy Lake, CEO
From Hollywood, business, activism and politics nearly 500 guests who are shaping the first half of the 21st Century will attend this first Campaign for Female Education gala. It will be held May 9 from 6.30 p.m at 583 Park Avenue at 63rd Street in New York. The evening will feature a cocktail reception, dinner, auction and live entertainment. During the event guests will meet several young women from CAMFED’s Alumni Network who have benefited from CAMFED’s support and launched successful careers.
The Campaign for Female Education Gala will celebrate and raise awareness of CAMFED’s 25-year history of successfully impacting the lives of girls and women in poor, rural sub-Saharan Africa (Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi). There, girls face an acute disadvantage, and education has the most transformative potential.
CAMFED works in a context where 75% of girls in rural communities start primary school, but only 8% finish secondary school.
Among the barriers to completing their education are the costs of school, uniforms and books, exam fees, and long and dangerous commutes to the classroom, as well as psychological and social barriers in a context where many girls are orphaned, looking after siblings or relatives, and required to support families’ meager livelihoods. The larger picture of endemic poverty can make staying in school impossible without support.
Mentoring and psycho-social support for marginalized girls are an important part of the CAMFED program. (Photo: CAMFED/Eliza Powell)
CAMFED-supported young women have graduated to become business leaders and hold university and leadership positions. Currently, over 120,000 CAMFED graduates in CAMA are mentoring the next generation of girls through school as a means of improving the health and wealth of their communities.
Gala attendees will have the opportunity to meet some of these transformative leaders, 75 of whom met with Prince Harry in Zambia this November, in person.
Find out more about sponsorships, purchasing tables or tickets, for the CAMFED NYC Gala.
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