For International Women’s Day this year, we invited our Fellows to apply for funding for projects related to the theme: #BreakingtheBias. In a co-collaborative process designed by the Fellows themselves, it was determined that out of all 10 Fellows, 8 proposals would be awarded funding! That means 8 incredible International Women’s Day projects will be carried out in the months to come, and we cannot wait to see the impact our Fellows have.
Three of our Fellows have already carried out their proposals, and the results are inspiring:
Fatimah’s project, titled Break the Bias, Be a Part, Be Informed, aimed to educate rural women on the importance of early childhood education and growth. In an in-person workshop, she was able to educate 100 women on strategies for supporting the holistic development of children ages 4 to 10. The event was broadcast online, reaching an even broader audience of mothers. In addition, 20 children within the ages of 4-8 were provided with various school supplies including pens, pencils, and exercise books. The photos above depict how these women broke the bias against education for young girls!
Agnes’s organization, The Academic Success Team, ran a Northern Women in Coding project called Breaking The Bias In Access To Technology. Visiting 6 districts in Ghana, Agnes exposed over 300 girls to computer programming and helped launch coding clubs for girls in each region. In these workshops, she taught female students to use Google apps, to create email accounts, to use proper email etiquette, and to build websites using HTML. These sessions provided direct access to technology training, something that young girls are rarely exposed to in rural regions.
Shine’s #BreakTheBias Empower Her project sought to address the academic needs of marginalized girls in the Kadjebila school/district. Through the Network4Change Initiative, 30 students received skills training and starter packs in bead making. Students were also provided with educational resources including books, uniforms, and, in the case of teenage mothers, sanitary materials. Shine was also able to cover the tuition for one tertiary student, and adopt one orphan student for the Initiative's “A Girl A Year” project. Interventions like these are critical for keeping girls in school and will make a great impact on the Kadjebila district’s schools.
We are thrilled with the work of our Fellows this International Women’s Day, and we thank the Trimble Foundation for helping us secure the funding to make such exciting projects possible. We are looking forward to another year of #BreakingTheBias and empowering women!