From today, you can have twice the impact when you donate to our Power Up Appeal. Every pound you give until 6 June will be doubled by the UK government.
Donate to our #PowerUp Appeal and help girls in Sierra Leone and around the world go to school, get their education and shape their own futures.
Education is a right
The power of education can be life changing, helping girls shape their own future, on their terms.
But in countries like Sierra Leone, women and girls are being held back and the coronavirus pandemic is only making things worse. 20 million girls may not return to school because of it*.
Our #PowerUp Appeal launched today will support more girls in Sierra Leone and around the world to go to school, get their education and shape their own futures.
I want to go back to school to become a nurse, if I get someone to support me. I will come back to my community to help children.
Education makes you self-reliant. When you’re educated it exposes you to opportunities and you can turn your life around for the good.
Kadiatu, a 17 year old from Sierra Leone who has been part of a Restless Development education project
The Power Up project
Match funding from the UK government will go towards our project in Sierra Leone to help more than 15,000 girls enrol in school, stay in school and build their future.
In Sierra Leone, girls continue to drop out of school at alarming rates. Less than 10% of girls attend secondary school, and many never re-enroll in school once they leave. In a 2013 study, 39% of Sierra Leonean women aged 20-24 had been married before they turned 18, and 36% of women 20-24 years had given birth by age 18.
Education enables you to be self-reliant and independent and to take care of your needs.
I’m focused on getting my education to take care of myself and my child. I want to be a nurse because I will be able to save many lives.
Serah (pictured), a 19 year old from Sierra Leone who has been part of a Restless Development education project
Power Up will work with teenage girls and women, schools, parents and communities to ensure girls and women can go to school, stay in school, and go on to have careers. A learning and mentoring programme for out-of-school girls will be set up, supporting them to enroll in school, learn leadership and life skills, get the knowledge to protect their sexual health, and plan their career. Power Up will strengthen schools to support girls, and provide mothers and fathers clubs, helping communities to lead the way in supporting girls’ rights.
The remaining public donations to our Power Up appeal will support young people around the world to find solutions to problems they face in their communities, whether that means supporting more young people to enrol in school and to make informed choices about their education and careers, or supporting young people who are campaigning on issues like gender inequality and eradicating working poverty.
*https://malala.org/newsroom/archive/malala-fund-releases-report-girls-education-covid-19
DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT
Every pound you give to our #PowerUp Appeal until 6 June will be doubled by the UK government.
Find out more about UK Aid Match
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