How Can We Help Educate Girls Globally?
Education is invaluable—it empowers girls and gives them hope, opportunity and confidence. Education also improves women’s careers and income.1 Literate women can run businesses, sign contracts and navigate new jobs rather than toiling for low pay in fields and factories. Girls need to attend and complete school, so there are ongoing efforts to educate girls globally.
A great example of the power of education is Ashima’s story. Young Ashima infrequently attended school; instead, she opted to play with her friends. Like many children in her village: her family lived in poverty, so they often could not afford books or supplies for school.
A GFA-sponsored worker built relationships with adults in Ashima’s village and heard about children like Ashima leaving school because of insufficient finances. After many months, GFA World set up a child sponsorship program in Ashima’s village. Through the program, Ashima received school books and supplies and tutoring. GFA’s support renewed Ashima’s interest in school and dedication to her studies. She later reflected,
“My future ambition is that I want to become a medical doctor.”
“Especially, I want to serve the poor from our society because … once we were very poor, and because we were poor, we were not able to buy so many things. It affected us very badly. And now, because [GFA World] is here, this is helping the poor and needy people like us; I also want to help and serve all the poor children and poor people who are suffering.”2
How can you be involved in supporting girls’ education?
- Child sponsorship — Ashima’s story of hope would not be possible without generous donations towards GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program. For $35 a month, you can help girls, their families and their communities break the cycle of poverty through community-wide solutions, which may include opportunities for education, medical care, protection against malnutrition, clean water and more. Girls can receive an education and experience God’s love firsthand through sponsorship!
- Literacy classes — Consider supporting GFA World’s literacy classes for women in Asia and Africa. GFA missionaries hold free literacy classes for thousands of women to teach them reading, writing and basic math skills. Each woman enrolled in the literacy classes also receives a free literacy book in their local language. For tens of thousands of women across Asia and Africa, these free literacy classes have made a world of difference in their lives!
1 Psarris, Emily. “Fighting global poverty with ideas.” GFA World. 14 October 2020. https://www.gfa.org/special-report/solutions-extreme-poverty-line-poor-impoverished/.
2 “A Drop in the Ocean.” GFA World. March 2018. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/gfa-world-a-drop-in-the-ocean/.