Promoting sustainability by educating girls

In the November/December 2008 issue of Mother Jones magazine, which focuses on rescuing the planet, a round-up of “ideas for saving the world on a shoestring” includes a mention on girls’ education and Camfed’s work.  You can read the piece here: Click on the article to the right to read the piece.

How, you might ask, does girls’ education help the environment? Environmentalists and development experts alike agree that one key factor in preserving the health of the planet is educating girls and creating economic opportunities for women. Studies show that educated women marry and bear children later, and have smaller, more sustainable families: young women who have completed secondary school, for example, have 2.2 fewer children than those who have not.

Education promotes sustainability in other ways as well. Research indicates that educating girls boosts farm yields, and diversifies marketplaces—both of which are considered critical steps toward ending the current world food crisis.

Earlier this year, Camfed joined forces with a visionary nonprofit called Global Footprint Network to promote the importance of educating girls in a resource-constrained world. GFN has developed a tool to measure the human impact on the planet so that governments can make more informed choices about how we use our limited resources. In December, members of the Global Footprint Network team will share their knowledge with high school graduates in rural Zambia, when Camfed and Goldman Sachs launch their 10,000 Women Certificate Program in Young Women’s Leadership and Enterprise, which will help young women develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills they need to become leaders in their communities. Watch for news on this exciting initiative in the coming months.