Girls

Across the world, girls are three times more likely to be malnourished than boys. In the poorest countries, 50% of girls do not attend secondary school.

Our Partners know that while there are generally more boys on the street, girls are often even more vulnerable and discriminated against. By focusing on girls this year, we hope to strengthen and expand existing services available to girls on the streets in Africa.

Example of a girl-focused programme - Cibusa House

Cibusa House is run by Friends of the Street Children (FSC) in Kitwe, Zambia, for girls aged 2-18 and boys under the age of 11. It’s a homely environment where girls can stay whilst workers trace their families.

The girls are provided with nutritious food, medical care and skills training such as bead-making and chicken-rearing. They are also enrolled in local community schools and given all the materials necessary to support their education.

Working Group on Street Girls

In 2012, Savina Geerinckx, Street Child Africa’s Overseas Programme Director, will be chairing the Consortium for Street Childrens’ (CSC) new expert forum on good practice. This forum aims to share learning and experience and the initial focus is on street girls.

On 12th April we celebrated The International Day for Street Children, led by the Consortium for Street Children. Street Child Africa is a member of CSC and we strongly support the campaign to give a louder voice to street children.

A Winning Team for Girls

It’s over a decade since Street Child Africa and Street Girls Aid (SAID) started working together and they’re still working tirelessly to promote the physical, social and psychological wellbeing of young girls on the streets.

Girls at SAID have identified skills training as the only way to beat poverty. A survey of 260 street mothers conducted in August 2011 found that 31% had no formal education at all. Many of the girls reported that they were unable to read or write a basic sentence. But nearly all of them dreamt of acquiring an employable skill.

With a grant from The Body Shop Foundation this will be possible. The Body Shop Foundation has committed to support literacy and skills training at SAID for 2012-2013. At its core, The Body Shop Foundation grant is about empowerment and employment. It’s funding that enables us to deliver our strategy for 2012 focusing on girls and education.

Street Girls Aid – the facts

• Founded 1994 in Accra, Ghana

• Director - Vida Asomaning Amoako

• From 1995-2010, SAID successfully helped

  ~ 1,225 babies to be delivered safely

  ~ 295 girls receive skills training

  ~ 4,110 children at its crèches

  ~ 922 children transition from kindergarten to      
     primary school.