UN Week in New York: CAMA Stands with Malala

Standing together with Malala at seminal events throughout New York City during the week of the United Nations commitment to the new Sustainable Development Goals, CAMA members will raise awareness of the transformative power of educating girls, and the urgency with which the world must act.

Find out more about individual events on our special events page

“We are honoured to be a part of such a powerful movement, and proud to stand with Malala,” says Camfed’s Angeline Murimirwa. “Education and support of marginalized girls must include a full cycle of secondary school; and it cannot stop at graduation. To truly make a difference, girls and women must be empowered to become activists and advocates in their communities, representing an unstoppable force for change.”

Young Women Who Were Once Excluded, Now Leading the Charge

Angeline was one of the first girls supported through school by Camfed. She is a founding member of CAMA, and now Camfed’s Regional Executive Director. She is joining Malala with two other young leaders who, not long ago, were little girls living in desperate rural poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: Fiona Mavhinga, supported through school by Camfed, now leading on CAMA’s development across Africa; and Abigail Kaindu, a pioneer of CAMA in Zambia, and now a member of the United Nations’ Youth Advocacy Group that advises Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Angeline, Fiona and Abigail will support many of Malala’s planned appearances and speeches, as well as attending and speaking at multiple equality and education focused events. They will be accompanied by Camfed CEO Lucy Lake.

The CAMA alumnae network represents leaders from some of the poorest rural communities across sub-Saharan Africa, who have completed their education with support from Camfed. 33,111 strong, the network will grow to 130,000 over the next few years, and is the largest network of its kind in Africa. After graduating secondary school, these alumnae pledge to support and mentor a new generation to enter school and graduate to new opportunities. The result replaces a cycle of continued poverty with a virtuous cycle of sustainable and scalable change.

During Malala’s trip to New York she will galvanize a global movement around girls who are excluded from quality secondary education. Camfed is proud to stand alongside her in this cause. Together they will ask the public to show vulnerable girls that they do not stand alone, and to hold governments accountable for the promises they make as the United Nations announces the Sustainable Development Goals. Replacing the Millennium Development Goals, the 17 ambitious global goals to end extreme poverty, improve health, achieve gender equality, and protect the planet, will only be achievable if all children receive a quality education

Venue: Venues across New York City, USA
Date: 24-29 September 2015
More info and videos: https://camfed.org/cama-standing-malala/