Why Scholarships?
Why poverty? That’s the better question. In the poverty of Gueoul, school comes second. And girls come second. So when a family is just too poor to afford clothing and books for school, or when they need their kids to help with the work of maintaining their households of many people, the girls get pulled out of school.
Educated girls:
- Avoid female genital cutting
- Are older when they marry
- Are less likely to contract HIV/AIDS
- Are less likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth
- Have fewer children
- Have children who survive to adulthood
- Have children who stay in school
- Help their kids with their schoolwork
- That’s why we educate girls!
The Friends of Gueoul Scholarship program grows every year by 12 first graders. The girls are funded throughout their primary and secondary education. The $100 they receive every year is enough to provide school supplies, clothing, books, and even offset home expenses.
The extra years of school these scholarships facilitate mean longer childhoods and more choices for these girls. They influence their siblings, their peers and their community and help, little by little, to lift a whole town (a whole country?!) out of poverty.
We thank the people of Gueoul for letting us into your hearts, and thank our generous donors for making the scholarship program possible.