Sixteen finalists have been chosen from the 400 journalists who entered the Guardian newspaper’s Development Journalism Competition.

Two of these finalists will now get the chance to visit Camfed’s work in Zambia and Tanzania. Their names will be announced on August 1st, and their articles will appear in the Guardian in November 2008.

Camfed is one of eight charities collaborating with the Guardian in this ground-breaking competition, which challenges amateur and freelance journalists to look behind the headlines and investigate why 2.7 billion people around the world are still living in poverty. (more…)

by Vicky Anning, Writer-in-Residence

A team of 16 runners braved wind and rain to take part in the British 10K London Run on Sunday, July 6 for Camfed. So far the intrepid team has raised more than £11,000 for girls in Africa, which is enough to buy 1,466 pairs of school shoes.

A pair of sturdy school shoes costs just £7.50, but this is beyond the reach of many families in the rural areas of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana and Tanzania where Camfed works. This can effectively deny girls the chance of an education – because shoes are a requirement for children to go to school. (more…)

Leading Camfed alumna Fiona Muchembere features in a thought-provoking interview about social entrepreneurship with BBC World Service presenter Peter Day.

Interviewed at the 2008 Skoll World Forum at Oxford University, Fiona talks about the power of education to transform lives and strengthen communities. With the support of Camfed, which was founded by social entrepreneur Ann Cotton in 1993, Fiona was the first girl in her rural community in Zimbabwe to attend university. After graduating as a lawyer, Fiona is now in a position to support 22 members of her family through school. (more…)

Camfed is still looking for a few more people to pull on their running shoes to raise money for desperately-needed school shoes for girls in Africa.

The British 10K London Run has sold out for the past three years, but Camfed has a handful of places left for the July 6 event. It’s a fantastic opportunity to join tens of thousands of other runners as they race through the heart of London, past landmarks like St Paul’s Cathedral andBuckingham Palace.

Over the past two years, runners have helped to raise more than £17,000 for Camfed by taking part in the run – which means Camfed has been able to buy shoes for 2,266 girls in sub-Saharan Africa who would otherwise not be able to go to school.

A pair of sturdy school shoes costs just £7.50, but this is beyond the reach of many families in the rural areas of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana andTanzania where Camfed works. This can effectively deny girls the chance of an education – because shoes are a requirement for children to go to school. Not only this, but making the long journey to school in bare feet is painful on the often scorching earth – and without protection, it’s not uncommon to pick up debilitating diseases such as hookworm along the way. A decent pair of shoes can make such a big difference in the lives of African girls living in rural poverty.

To join the Camfed team, send us an email, phone 01223 362648 before Friday, June 27. Or visit our 10km race page to find out more.

By Vicky Anning, writer-in-residence

When the writer Lisa Grainger was growing up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), she loved nothing better than listening to the tales told by her nanny, Ida, round the fire. Twenty years later, she gave up a full-time job as the Features Director of Elle to return to her native Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries to gather stories that have been passed down by generations of grandmas (or “gogos”). (more…)

Fiona Muchembere joined global leaders, including President Carter, Jeff Skoll and Al Gore and at the Skoll World Forum at Oxford University from March 26 to 28. As the first girl from her rural community in Zimbabwe to attend university as well as the first to become a lawyer, Fiona was able to share with the audience her experience of breaking through the barriers of poverty to set a new precedent for children and young people in rural communities. Fiona was supported through her education by Camfed, and today she holds a managerial position supporting Cama (Camfed’s growing alumnae organization) across four countries of Africa.

Fiona challenged the idea that girls’ exclusion from education is an expression of culture. “In Africa we value education,” Fiona told her audience and fellow panelists. “Families are proud of their children – both boys and girls –who receive further education, especially in the rural areas. But the context of chronic poverty and AIDS has masked this cultural value.” Fiona described how the economic crisis in Zimbabwe is making it increasingly difficult for families to be able to afford to send their girls to school. As education costs rise, more and more girls are dropping out of school and migrating to urban areas or neighbouring countries where they are vulnerable to sexual exploitation or abuse which can lead to HIV/AIDS.

“Poverty is robbing children of the right to education despite the high value it has within our culture,” she continued. Fiona is supporting 22 members of her immediate and extended family through school. Consequently, she and other educated young women in Zimbabwe are increasingly regarded as leaders by their communities. “Our families often ask us, ‘You are the ones that went to school–what should we do in this situation?’” she said.

With Fiona and her fellow Cama members sending almost 50,000 girls to school this year, a growing number of young women in rural Africa will be able to answer that question with confidence.

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