Why Girls?
The benefits of providing African girls with an education are clear. Educated girls help break the cycle of poverty. Girls who go to school are more likely to enter the work force, earn higher incomes, delay marriage, plan their families, and seek an education for their own children.
When girls in developing African nations receive an education and earn income, they put 90 percent of their earnings into their families, compared only to 40 percent for men. When a girl in the developing world goes to school for seven or more years, she marries four years later than she otherwise would and has two or more fewer children. The children she does have are more likely to be healthy and survive past the age of five.
Success Helping Hands For Africa Initiative ( SHHAI ) is committed to improving education in Africa for girls. Many of our member organizations provide educational scholarships and stipends to girls. They provide immediate, concrete, educational support and know what it takes to help girls go to school and stay in school. They are trusted and supported within the African communities they serve.
A New Approach
To reach girls denied education because of poverty and tradition, “you’ve got to tailor things better . . . you can’t do more of the same,” according to World Bank Economists Maureen Lewis. We do just that. Our members providing girls education understand what it takes to reach girls who would otherwise be overlooked. They are making a real difference in the lives of girls want to go to school.
Complex factors bar girls from education in Africa. To overcome the barriers of costs, culture, and tradition, organizations must understand local needs and be trusted by local communities. SHHAI’s member organizations are small, agile, and embedded in the African communities they serve. They understand what it takes and help bring solutions to African problems—including girls’ education. They have a history of supporting students who enroll in school, stay in school, and complete their educations.
SHHAI supports these effective, action-oriented organizations in order to increase the number of girls they can help and to help more girls go to school and succeed in life.
The SHHAI Difference
Strength through Partnership
SHHAI members working on the ground with their partners in Sub Saharan Africa for a common goal—reducing poverty through effective development. Our members tend to be small and effective and benefit from collaboration with other like-minded organizations. SHHAI helps our members work together by serving as a forum for constructive discussion, acting as a clearinghouse for sharing best practices and results, and creating a greenhouse for nurturing and planting the seeds for future projects.
SHHAI supports a range of educational programs through the support of our partners, including distributing books,creating libraries, building schools, supporting teachers and school administrators, conducting educational workshops, and providing scholarships. Our focus on education includes providing scholarships and stipends to African girls so they can go to school, stay in school, and succeed in life.
On-the-Ground Experience in Education
Only organizations that are deeply knowledgeable of and trusted by local communities can help overcome the barriers of cost, culture, and tradition to bring education to more African girls. It is here that Success Helping Hands For Africa Initiative members excel.
Our member are experienced in helping girls and young women go to school. Some focus on girls in elementary school, others on girls in high school, technical school or college. What SHHAI member’s all have in common is that they work in local communities under conditions specific to the culture, location, and country. Although education is a universal need, every student faces unique challenges. We understand this and work to ensure that each girl has what she needs to attend, stay, and succeed in school.
How Much Does School Cost? What Your Donation Can Do
The average annual cost of educating a high school student in the United States is about $7,750. In Kenya, Nigeria,Uganda, and Tanzania combined, the average cost per year is about $550. Thus, 12 girls can go to school in Africa for the price on one student in the US. In some areas a girl can attend high school for as little as $400. Although the exact costs vary by school, town, and country, a small donation can make a big difference in the life of an African girl. Likewise, the cost of attending a public college in the United States is about $15,000. The cost of attending a university in Sub Saharan Africa varies by school and program, but averages about $2,000 a year. For the price of a year in a US college, seven girls can go to university in Africa.
Students in many countries in Africa pay fees to attend school. Even if school is “free,” students must have uniforms and supplies that they often cannot afford. Most high schools in Africa are boarding schools, requiring students to live away from home and pay fees for their living expenses and tuition. Currently, we are supporting students attending elementary school through college in Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi,Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Your donation will help girls go to school and stay in school. Donations of any amount are critical and can ensure a girl’s future.
Here are some examples of what your donation can provide:
• $25 – personal supplies, including soap, toilet paper, sanitary pads, laundry detergent, and the like
• $50 – a school uniform, physical education uniform, and school supplies
• $100 – school books for eight girls
• $200 – a mattress, set of sheets, a blanket, and a trunk for two girls at boarding school
• $250 – a year of elementary school
• $550 – a year of high school
• $1,200 – a year of vocational school
• $2,000 – a year in college, including room and board
