What sets us apart

We are led by young women with a shared background of exclusion, who are stepping up for education and equity and multiplying the investment in their education.

Girls educated with CAMFED support go on to join Africa’s largest and fastest-growing network of young women activists. They are our leaders.

Having themselves experienced extreme hardship and exclusion, our CAMFED Association members are ideally placed to identify and collectively address the issues their communities face. Every day, most especially in a crisis, they are on the frontline, deploying their expertise and partnerships to galvanize community support around the most vulnerable.

People who have experience with inequities are the ones best equipped to design solutions… I’ve been inspired by the capacity of individuals to lift others: an association of women professionals mentoring girls through the same program that paid for their own educations.
MacKenzie Scott, 116 Organizations Driving Change (2020)

The sisterhood at the forefront of our movement

The story of CAMFED is the story of a sisterhood of leaders, creating hope, opportunity and change at scale.

We can tell the story of each individual girl’s transformation through education.
And we are writing the story of collective leadership, as young educated women join forces with schools, communities and education authorities to make sure every child secures their right to learn and thrive.
Each member of the CAMFED Association, on average, supports another three girls to go to school with her own resources, as well as mentoring, encouraging and passing on her skills to many more. With a membership that grows year-on-year as more girls complete secondary school and join, the power of this leadership network exponentially multiplies our donors’ investment in girls’ education.

This is what sets us apart. Watch the video to experience our model through the stories of the leaders educated with CAMFED support.

Leadership rising from Africa

30%
30% of our staff globally are CAMFED Association members (CAMFED grads). They understand from personal experience the hurdles girls face, and lead our programs with deep expertise.
5
Elected representatives of the CAMFED Association sit on all of CAMFED's national Boards in Africa
100%
100% of staff working in CAMFED offices in Africa are nationals of those countries

Discover our leaders’ lived experiences

Media-block-Harriet-Lukanda-CAMA-Chair-MBW-ZAM-Dec-2023

In Zambia we say ‘it’s all about ubuntu.’

“The sisterhood network is so important to me because we all share the same background, values and have that solidarity. We are working together. I don’t feel alone. I’m always supported by my fellow sisters.”

Read Harriet's story

Camfed-Tanzanias-National-Director-Lydia-Wilbard-with-her-former-high-school-teacher

I met my former high school teacher on an extraordinary day

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked into the room — The Head of School was my former high school teacher…He was so full of pride and mentioned to everyone that day that I was his former student. He urged his students to also do him proud one day.”

Read Lydia's blog

Story-Hero-Yvonne-Chari-169444-CAMA-DOO-Mount-Darwin-ZIM

Giving up is not an option for me

“I extend my support to numerous girls, averaging around 10 per year, providing them with essential items like stationery, uniforms, shoes, and food.”

Read Yvonne's story

CAMFED’s 3-level approach

Our 3-level model is recognized as one of the boldest solutions for tackling the biggest challenges of our time – and it all starts with supporting a girl to go to school:

1. Girls:

We provide girls with individualized financial and material support to attend and succeed in school – including items like decent clothes, notebooks, and menstrual products – and build a nurturing social support network around them.

2. Young women

When girls graduate, we support them to transition to work and positions of leadership through the CAMFED Association — our sisterhood of educated young women who in turn help to support the next generation of girls to go to school.

3. Entire generations

We partner with governments to transform education systems to better serve the needs of all children.

Our unique operating model

CAMFED’s three-pronged operating model integrates operational excellence with community championship and the expertise of the CAMFED Association of women leaders educated with CAMFED support. It ensures that we remain accountable to each girl we support, and that her needs are met in a way that is responsive to her specific context. As a result, CAMFED is able to deliver a resilient, highly efficient and ultimately sustainable program that truly serves the needs of our clients, and multiplies the impact of donor investment, even and especially in times of crisis.

Discover our unique model