Kudirat, Gift, and Halima (9), Jemimah (10), Joke (12), and Amina (13) are among the first cohort of girls that Give Girls A Chance (GGAC) supported through its Scholarship and Mentoring program. When asked what the best part about being a GGAC girl is, Kudirat, Halima, and Jemimah said it was the relationships they had built with their mentors. GGAC mentors, all professional women who volunteer their time to invest in the program, help the girls to improve their reading, writing, and math skills. Because of their improvement, the girls report that they are proud of themselves as are their families.
Ada (11) is also happy: not only have her grades improved since she joined Give Girls A Chance’s program, having the opportunity to interact with the other girls and with the mentors makes her “feel wonderful.” She looks forward to the activities that GGAC plans during the school year and wholeheartedly participates when she has the chance. Samantha (13) and Ekaite (14) also enjoy being part of Give Girls A Chance because for them, it is not just an opportunity to access a quality education, knowledge, and skills but also to meet new people and share good moments.
Nkechi (12) said being in the Give Girls A Chance program has strongly contributed to improving her life. Having the mentors’ support and advice has been very crucial in giving her the motivation to study and to think about her future.
For Patience (15) and Laide (14), GGAC’s support has been fundamental: without the scholarship awarded to them, they could not have afforded to go to school.
Give Girls A Chance has supported all these girls to give them the opportunity to cultivate their dreams and talents. Girls must be considered equal to their male counterparts. They must have the opportunity to become doctors, scientists, lawyers, teachers, or chemists and the ability to choose what they want to do with their lives.
This is what Give Girls A Chance strongly believes in. For this reason, since 2016, GGAC has been committed to improving girls’ access to quality education as well as fighting the low enrollment and graduation rates of Nigerian girls and the low literacy levels, low quality of education, and the inadequate infrastructure of the Nigerian educational system. After two years in operation, we have found evidence that girls enrolled in our programs perform better academically, have higher attendance rates, and report higher social well-being levels compared to their peers.
The girls mentioned are just some of those that Give Girls A Chance supports yearly with scholarships, mentoring and community, and family engagement. With your help, we aim to do even more. So please take a moment today and consider donating to give a girl a chance to get an education which could transform her life and improve her prospects for the future.
Note: All students’ names have been changed.
Sara is a recent Politics, Philosophy and Economics graduate who is about to start a Master’s in Sustainable Development in Milan. Her motto is “be the change you want to see in the world”. She aspires to do work that can have a positive impact and maybe one day start a charitable project or organization of her own.