The Campaign For Female Education (CAMFED), a non-governmental organization in Ghana that seeks to remedy the challenges that girls face in completing their education, is benefiting from a large grant from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. The project is called “Accountable Grants” and allocates several million dollars to young females in the country’s poorest districts.

The support would cover food rations for girls living in hostels, schooling expenses and fees, and textbooks. The Education Program Manager for CAMFED, Cyril Yabepone, has said that poverty remains a significant factor in the retention of young girls. This is especially true in the country’s northern region.

The £9.5million grant (an equivalent of almost 14.5 million USD) allows for CAMFED to expand to a total of thirty districts across the country and provide support for 20,000 girls who previously risked losing their education due to their family’s inability to pay. It would also provide training for the teachers of the affected girls, and provide them (the grant beneficiaries) with mentoring to ensure their success.

The country’s leaders, in order to ensure the success of the program as a whole, are calling on parents, teachers, administrators, and tribal leaders to support it. As one government official summarizes, “education is the panacea for development.”

– Samantha Mauney

Source: Ghana Business News
Photo: The Peace Blog