When she thrives, we all thrive
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Join Rahina live at the Obama Foundation Summit 2018
Today is day two of the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, guided by the theme “Common Hope. Uncommon Stories.”
CAMFED alumna Rahina has travelled to Chicago to represent the hope of girls and young women all over sub-Saharan Africa to go to school, become financially independent, and — together — support their families and communities to thrive. Rahina will join other young leaders and grassroots activists in a session moderated by Tiffany Drake, Director of the Global Girls Alliance at the Obama Foundation, entitled “The Future of Our World is Only as Bright as Our Girls: Personal Perspectives on Adolescent Girls’ Education” at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm CST.
Watch the Obama Foundation Summit live from 9 am CST (10 am EST | 3 pm GMT)
On October 11th, Day of the Girl, the young women in CAMFED’s alumnae network, CAMA, joined the Global Girls Alliance, launched by Michelle Obama and the Obama Foundation to raise awareness and support for the 98 million adolescent girls around the world who are currently out of school. Today, Rahina is representing CAMA through her own story of transformation.
CAMA brings together young women from disadvantaged backgrounds into this cohesive network that understands all the nuances of poverty and the barriers that girls face in trying to get an education.
Fiona Mavhinga, Director of CAMA Development
Rahina grew up in a village in Northern Ghana, with her mother as the only provider for the family of five. She had always dreamed of becoming a doctor, but with her family struggling to meet her school going costs, she was at risk of dropping out.
Then CAMFED stepped in, and today Rahina has a degree in Neuroscience.
Volunteering at her local hospital, where she witnessed the striking effect that the lack of doctors and resources had on the lives of people in her community, Rahina understood early on that “it is not only illness but isolation that destroys patients.”
Now she is part of CAMA, a peer network that breaks down isolation and supports more girls to go to school.
Fiona Mavhinga (right), founding member of the CAMA network, and CAMA leader Memory Mumbi (in blue) with Mrs. Obama at the inaugural Obama Foundation Summit.
Rahina, who completed her secondary education at the African Leadership Academy in South Africa before studying at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, USA, is an inspiration to the girls and women in her village. She is committed to becoming a doctor, and improving the lives of people who have been lacking access to quality healthcare.
CAMA members have lived the transformation that education makes possible. Now you can support Rahina’s network in Ghana directly through its Global Girls Alliance fundraising campaign.