Secondary Education
At the end of primary school, huge numbers of children in Africa drop out of school forever. The costs of education for the next stage rise considerably, especially when schools are too far from home to walk daily and boarding is the only option. Poor families are forced to choose which among their children can move on to secondary education. Boys are favoured. They have the best chance of future paid work and can travel further afield to find work with less threat to their safety.
Walk into almost any secondary school classroom in Africa and you will find girls a minority. Girls also know that they are the first to be withdrawn from school should family circumstances deteriorate.
Camfed guarantees girls 4 years of secondary education. We provide all that a girl’s family are unable to provide themselves due to their poverty, such as school clothing, stationery and books. When girls live too far to walk daily, we provide all the needs of boarding including soap, towels, pocket money and tin trunks to store their possessions.
Social support is also provided through a network of trained Camfed mentors, usually a female teacher at each partner secondary school. If a girl is experiencing problems or anxieties at home or school, a mentor is there to counsel and advise and to alert Camfed staff if extra support is required.
This comprehensive approach of material and social support has achieved school retention of above 90% throughout Camfed's history. No parent has ever turned down the offer of support for their child.
Read about the third stage of the Camfed Model - young educated women receive business training.
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