Educate and Empower Girls With Me

I am breaking the cycle of poverty and early child marriage in rural areas by creating "Girls' Lead Clubs that empower girls educationally, socially and economically.

In Cameroon, especially in rural communities, schooling is not a girl thing. Even when girls do start school, many drop out early because of extreme poverty, pregnancy, and early marriage. There was a time when poverty threatened to end my education. Had it succeeded, I would be one of countless girls robbed of the opportunities education provides.

In September 2016, I launched Girls Lead clubs to close the gap in girls’ education in Cameroon. These clubs educate, mentor, and empower girls in rural communities in topics traditional schooling doesn’t cover—like sex education, menstrual hygiene, and ICT (Information Communication Technology). We teach girls that education is key in breaking the cycle of poverty, and motivate them to stay in school and become leaders in spite of the most difficult odds.

To keep the girls busy and focused now that Cameroonian students are out of school because of a socio-political crisis that has been going on for over one year, we meet with the girls monthly to teach and mentor them and also train them on economic empowerment or life skills that will stay with them for their entire life.