CAMFED's CEO on Julia Gillard's leadership podcast

NewsPublished on: Oct 31 2024

"It’s amazing how audacious hope can be."

A Podcast of One’s Own – Angie Murimirwa on the transformative power of education

Julia Gillard’s conversation with CAMFED’s CEO, Angie Murimirwa, charts the journey of a girl financially struggling to stay in school in rural Zimbabwe to a leader at the very top of our organization, who has just been honored with the Africa Education Medal.

Today, Angie spearheads a movement ensuring that generations of girls have the opportunity to learn, thrive and lead – and one day, that won’t be an audacious thing to do.

Angie bubbles with joy and passion for changing the lives of girls in Africa - she's remarkable, warm, funny and wise...In my years post politics, one thing that's kept me connected to education campaigning while also deepening my understanding of its transformative power is being Patron of CAMFED.

Julia Gillard, Patron of CAMFED, on A Podcast of One's Own

Invest in what Julia Gillard calls "an exponential model of change."

Every girl supported through school by CAMFED goes on to financially support 3 more girls, on average.

Supporting more women into leadership positions

The Global Institute for Women’s leadership podcast, hosted by its Chair, Julia Gillard, features conversations with inspirational leaders working towards gender equality, and delivers insights on how to get more women into leadership positions. Julia Gillard is still the only woman to have served as Prime Minister of Australia. She has been a life-long advocate for quality education for all children, and first met Angie Murimirwa at a leadership summit in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2016, where this photo was taken.

Listen to their conversation here

It’s amazing how audacious hope can be. What I'm doing now, being the CEO of the very organization that supported me to go to school...it wasn't part of my dream. But what I knew I wanted was for us to have a better life. And for me, a better life looked like: would you have enough food to eat? I did not want to keep hearing my mom cry...She was seeing history repeat itself. My grandmother dropped out in grade five; my mom, grade six...Meeting school going costs was so out of our reach...I was like, I'm going to drop out, but I'm going to drop out with the best possible results - I'm going to leave primary school with a bang!

Find out what happened next

“I shall go gently behind her, to be at hand, with my curiosity, to comfort her when she bursts out in a rage and thinks, ‘I am alone’.” - Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf’s book A Room of One’s Own inspired the name of Julia’s podcast. Her quote speaks so much to our CAMFED Association, the sisterhood of women leaders educated with CAMFED support. Founded by our first 400 graduates in 1998, with Angie as elected Chair, the network numbered 279,000 at the beginning of 2024. Our graduates are determined to come behind girls like themselves in their communities, and support their vision for a different future. “I think she wrote these words for me… and everyone out there who wants this world to be a better place,” Angie tells Julia. “When we set up the CAMFED Association, we asked ourselves, ‘How do I hold that space to enable girls to find themselves; to do what they need to do, and go where they need to go, in a manner that doesn’t interfere with them, but that they never feel isolated or alone.‘” Angie explains. Today CAMFED’s peer support model, led by CAMFED Association Learner Guides, is being integrated into national school systems.

I’ve met young women through CAMFED, and the Association, and they are determined to change their nation, change their world. I am expecting that I will see some of them become leaders of nations in Africa.

Julia Gillard, Patron of CAMFED

Are you ready to be at hand for YOUR sisters ?

CAMFED is a movement for everyone, led by communities who rally resources around their most vulnerable children, and supported by people like you across the globe – champions of gender equality and social justice.