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| The Sega Girls School: Subira’s story. |
The Situation of Girls in Tanzania
Tanzanian girls, from the time they are born, hold
a lower status and value in society, enjoy less freedom
and power over their lives, and have fewer opportunities
for education and development than boys. In a context
of poverty and limited household resources, girls are the
last selected for schooling, and the first to drop out,
especially between primary and secondary school.
The low status ascribed to girls, biases within the school
system, large domestic work demands in the home, and
incidents of sexual abuse and harassment by peers
and/or teachers, all contribute to girls dropping out. Early
marriage, which is legal for girls as young as 12 with
parental permission, (endorsed by the marriage act of
1971), and in some parts of the country, female genital
mutilation (affecting as many as 18% of Tanzanian girls)
also contribute to dropping out.
Many girls who drop out become child domestic workers
in faraway households where they may be virtually
enslaved, working up to 17 hours per day for a pittance.
Some, as young as 12, and desperate to improve their lives,
find work in restaurants or bars, and soon become victims
of sexual exploitation. Others get pregnant at a young age.
Twenty-five percent of women begin childbearing in their
teenage years in Tanzania, and one in every five Tanzanian
women is a teenage mother.
Girls, and the women they can become, represent an
enormous untapped resource in Tanzania. The ripple effects
of educating girls are powerful, yielding benefits on a
much wider scale than merely to the individual girls who are
reached. Girls with secondary education become
knowledgeable, skilled women who enjoy greater decision-
making power in their own households and make valuable
contributions in their workplaces. Many will become strong,
dynamic leaders, guiding social change processes in their
communities and nation.
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info@forgirlsake.org |
This year we are partnering with Nurturing Minds to support a girls’ school in Tanzania called
The Sega Girls School, operated by the Tanzanian organization SEGA (Secondary Education for
Girls’ Advancement). Nurturing Minds, the funding source for this school, is a US-based non-profit
organization that supports quality education for bright, motivated Tanzanian girls who otherwise
would not attend school due to extreme poverty.
The ability to have access to and utilize computers and the internet in the classroom is critical to
providing quality education in the 21st century. Therefore, Forgirlsake‘s goal between now and the end
of the year is to raise $6,265 to to provide the Sega Girls’ School with a solar powered computer lab,
(22 solar panels donated by Suntech America) which would consist of 5 Inveneo computing stations,
one hub server, an external drive, and a LaserJet printer. To contribute $20 to support the solar
powered computer lab, please click below!
With your contribution you will directly benefit 58 day and boarding students at the Sega Girls School.
And over the long-term, the beneficiaries will continue to increase, as subsequent classes of girls join and attend the Sega Girls’ School. Your support is part of a worldwide effort to break historical cyles of poverty, enabling young women to gain the necessary tools and confidence to further their education and eventually fill leadership roles at all levels of society. Thank you for your support!
For more information on Nurturing Minds and the Sega Girls School, visit www.nurturingmindsinafrica.org.
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