In memory of our beautiful baby, Leander Bird, who was born asleep, this year we are raising money for Educate Girls run by The Life You Can Save - Prism the Gift Fund.

Educate Girls is a nonprofit that focuses on mobilizing communities for girls' education in the remotest parts of India. Strongly aligned with the Right to Education Act, Educate Girls aims to achieve behavioural, social, and economic transformation for all girls toward an India where all children have equal opportunities to access quality education.

India faces a significant gender disparity in education, particularly in the central and northern states of the country [1]. 5.8 Million girls aged 5-15 are out of school and at the permanent risk of never entering a classroom and completing their education. Exacerbating the issue of access to education, the quality of education provided in government primary schools is mostly very weak, resulting in poor learning outcomes.

Girls, especially those in rural areas, are often expected to adhere to regressive deep rooted social and patriarchal norms. Therefore, they are confined to doing household chores, agricultural work and even early marriages. The ripple effects of not educating a girl manifests in issues ranging from child marriages, early pregnancy, poor health, lower self-esteem, becoming vulnerable to abuse, limited economic potential and an overall lack of wellbeing and reduced personal agency. Research shows that enrolling girls in schools and improving their learning outcomes can lead to better outcomes across all of these dimensions.

SOURCES

[1] https://www.education-inequalities.org/