Camfed (Campaign for Female Education)is a non-profit organization aimed at helping girls get an education in sub-Saharan Africa. It was founded by Ann Cotton, a British businesswoman, in 1993. Camfed operates in five African countries.
The organization concentrates its work on rural areas with widespread poverty. Many children, especially girls, cannot go to school because they have to help at home and earn money for their families. Many marry at a very early age. Only very few complete secondary education and get an appropriate job afterwards.
During the COVID pandemic many schools had to close, food and energy costs have risen since then making it even harder for children to get educated.
Camfed helps by paying for school fees, uniforms and textbooks. It also helps to train teachers and assists girls in finding work after school. In the past 30 years Camfed has helped over 2 million girls get an education.
Recently, Camfed has called for a six-year plan to get 6 million girls educated by the end of the decade.
School girls in their uniforms walking home from school in Nakuru, Kenya, East Africa
Image: Diana Robinson Photography , via Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0