How CAMFED made a tangible difference to the lives of more than 277,000 girls and young women
More than 277,000 girls and young women have seen a tangible difference in their lives as a result of two CAMFED projects implemented under UK Aid’s Girls’ Education Challenge – Transitions (GEC-T) in peri-urban and rural districts of Tanzania, and rural districts of Zambia and Zimbabwe, especially as a result of the introduction and scaling of our Learner Guide program.
The impact achieved is a culmination of nine years of work and investment under the Girls’ Education Challenge, which – for CAMFED – began in 2013 and ended in January 2022.
The projects were central to developing and delivering our wider organizational strategy, and served as a powerful demonstration of our collective ability to respond quickly and effectively to the additional challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This final reflections piece, developed in partnership with the GEC-T team, gives an overview of both CAMFED projects (“Girls learn, succeed, and lead” implemented in peri-urban districts in Tanzania and “The virtuous cycle of girls’ education” implemented in rural Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) in the context of our strategic plan.
It outlines the adaptations we made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, key achievements, headline numbers, and important points of learning. The stories and expertise of the girls and young women we serve, and the leaders they’ve become, bring our community-led transformational work to life.
Read the CAMFED GEC reflections pieceThe CAMFED vision tells a message of sustainability of what it does. When girls are educated and valued in the community, they use their knowledge and skills to help families tackle poverty.Community Development Committee member, Zambia
This project, implemented in rural Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, resulted in:
A total of 270,845 girls being supported to attend and thrive in secondary school. 88,061 in Tanzania, 10,205 in Zambia, and 172,579 in Zimbabwe.
GEC-T/CAMFED 2022
An average of 98% of students returning to school after pandemic related closures. 100% in Tanzania, 97% in Zambia, and 96% in Zimbabwe.
GEC-T/CAMFED 2022
102,492 girls supported into employment, enterprise or further education: 27,549 in Tanzania and 74,943 in Zimbabwe.
GEC-T/CAMFED 2022
An additional 194,030 girls benefiting from community and CAMFED Association initiatives to help them attend school, such as provision of money, food, toiletries, clothes, shoes or school supplies.
GEC-T/CAMFED 2022
CAMFED program activities supported schools and districts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the education sector. The evidence is that students loved to come to school when they reopened because of the support provided by the CAMFED organization.Teacher Mentor, Tanzania
This project, implemented in peri-urban districts in Tanzania, resulted in:
A total of 7,009 girls being supported to attend and thrive in secondary school.
GEC-T/CAMFED 2022
100% of students returning to school after pandemic related closures.
GEC-T/CAMFED 2022
2,816 girls supported into post-school pathways of employment, enterprise, or further education.
GEC-T/CAMFED 2022
69,534 community and school leaders trained in areas such as child protection, catch-up learning strategies and guidance & counselling to support vulnerable students.
GEC-T/CAMFED 2022
The selection of stories, blogs and news items below highlights the broader impact of the GEC's investment in girls' education and women's leadership and livelihoods.
“As Learner Guides, we take an interest in each and every child’s life as a whole. We become the friend and sister they need, creating the necessary support structure until they finish school.”
“Life is hard and there are long distances from home to school. I know the challenges students face going to school. Girls like me can support students because we have lived these challenges.”
“CAMFED changed my life, I could go to school wearing uniform and feel equal to my fellow students.”
“The My Better World program gave me the ability to lead a class and discover the problems of children. It has kept the students close to me, when they face challenges they come to me to tell me.“
“As a Learner Guide I am a motivator, a role model to pupils in schools, and also in my wider community. I have developed new skills, including facilitation and public speaking skills. These are very important skills, which will help me in my future career.”
“We understand intimately that extreme poverty means a lack of choice and control — over your body, and your future — so most Learner Guides go beyond the call of duty. That way we can also be a great help to teachers, as we create the link between families and schools”
“I got the support I needed, and the motivation to make sure that each and every child like me gets access to education…I am excited that I am directly contributing to the goal of reaching 5 million girls by 2025!”
“I describe Suzen as an advocate for change as she speaks on behalf of the community on topics such as gender-based violence, early marriages, teenage pregnancies and child protection. She is always looking out for vulnerable children, the elderly and the disabled.”
After I completed my studies, I trained as a Learner Guide. I returned to my former school to deliver life skills and self-development sessions. The topic of entrepreneurship got me interested in starting my own business so I could help my sister in turn.”
Because of the CAMFED Association (CAMA) network, we became more than sisters and came up together to fight the common enemy which is poverty. No CAMA member would suffer in the presence of otherCAMFED Association member
CAMA members.
“I am super excited for this opportunity to represent our Sisterhood for climate action, share our experiences with the world, and send a message to global leaders to make education investment a priority at COP26.” – Forget Shareka
In October 2021, The REAL Centre at the University of Cambridge with the Yidan Prize Foundation and CAMFED announced a new partnership at the conference: Creating an Equitable Future Through Education.
The Yidan Prize Foundation, dedicated to a creating a better world through education, named CAMFED Co-Executives Angeline Murimirwa and Lucy Lake as 2020 laureates of the Yidan Prize for Education Development, the world’s largest prize in education.
In this analysis of CAMFED program data in Tanzania, the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge explains the hidden value of educating the most marginalized girls.
A Devex conversation with CAMFED explores how to create an enabling environment for good governance for girls’ education, and how girls’ education, in turn, helps to support good governance.
We are thrilled that CAMFED has been awarded the 2021 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the world’s largest annual humanitarian award presented to a nonprofit in recognition of extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering.
Mary-B Hall $526
Anne Krentz & James R Organ $2500
Allison Scribner $158
Sandra Spence $799
Elaine Smith Smith $26.6
Margaret Spence $3500
Evan Smith $200
Malcolm Colman £124.9
Miguel Armijo $26.6
Stephanie Clancy $209
Pauline Asplund $13
Marcela MOGLIA $73.9
Alys Milner $1003
Phillip Kamps $63.4
Tillie Oatman $158
