#GirlsCount in Ghana

On International Women’s Day, WomenStrong joins the ONE campaign in saying #GirlsCount! 130 million girls are out of school every day, but even one girl denied her education and a bright future is one too many.

In Kumasi, Ghana, WHW serves 941 girls in 36 schools through Girls’ Clubs supported by WomenStrong International. Without education or even an ability to read, women in Ghana are stuck in the informal economy where they are extremely vulnerable to economic exploitation and unable to withstand unexpected economic setbacks. Education helps girls build a brighter future and lives with more potential than their mothers ever had.

But education isn’t just about the future. Girls who stay in school are more protected against sexual predators and other threats that are often responsible for luring girls out of school. Girls’ Clubs help girls focus on their dreams for the future, because such dreams can help a girl overcome the significant, every day obstacles to staying in school.

To teach girls the skills they need and fill the gaps in the Ghanaian school curriculum, WHW begin Girls’ Clubs in junior high schools in and around Kumasi. In addition to teaching basic sexual and reproductive health and rights, these clubs touch on topics like domestic violence, self-esteem, relationships, communications, and goal-setting. Teachers, headmasters and parents report that girls in the WHW’s Clubs, now numbering over 1,000, have become leaders in their communities. They have better hygiene, are more confident, are better motivated in the classroom and share what they’ve learned with other girls.

On International Women’s Day, WHW Executive Director Abenaa Akuamoa-Boateng joins the ONE Campaign’s count of out of school girls.

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