TED Talk: Powering the sisterhood

CAMFED has an audacious plan to change the lives of millions of girls. Here’s how.

95% of girls in the most disadvantaged communities in rural Africa never complete secondary school. That is deeply unjust; and it’s a tragedy for each individual, each family, and our collective future.

CAMFED’s vision for 2030 is led by a powerful sisterhood of young women in Africa who have beaten the odds to go to school, succeed and lead – and with your support they’ll make sure millions more get that chance.

• Our sisterhood, the CAMFED Association, is 25 years young and has reached an incredible milestone: Numbering more than 300,000 members across 5 African countries, by the end of 2024.  
• And we’re on a trajectory to more than double this movement by 2030: Over half a million young women transforming the system for the next generation!
• Together with you, we’ll help millions more girls enrol and thrive in secondary school and transition to secure jobs & leadership.

3 ways CAMFED supports girls to thrive

• We provide girls with financial and material support for school basics – like decent clothes, notebooks, and menstrual products, in a context where 1 months’ supply can cost as much as 20 meals.
• We build a nurturing social support network around girls: Community committees that safeguard children; parents who cook school meals and build safe toilets; chiefs who tackle child marriage and lift women’s voices in the community.
• Crucially, graduates who join our sisterhood return to the classroom to accompany girls on the journey through school to independence.