There is a well-known saying: "Educate a boy and you educate an individual; educate a girl and you educate a nation." Few investments create as much lasting change as girls' education — which is exactly why our Empower Her programme exists.
The barriers girls face
Around the world, girls are far more likely than boys to be denied an education. Poverty, early marriage, child labour, long and unsafe journeys to school, and a lack of female teachers all stand between girls and the classroom. In conflict zones and refugee camps, those barriers multiply.
- Families prioritising boys' schooling when money is tight
- Early and forced marriage cutting education short
- Unsafe routes and lack of separate facilities
- Cultural pressure and a shortage of female role models
The ripple effect of educating a girl
When a girl is educated, the benefits radiate outward across her whole community and the next generation:
An educated girl marries later, has a healthier and smaller family, earns more, and is far more likely to send her own children — both sons and daughters — to school. The change compounds with every generation.
This is the long-term engine behind the importance of education as a whole: when you remove the barriers in front of girls, you accelerate progress for everyone.
How READ Foundation empowers girls
Through Empower Her, we provide girls with safe schools, female teachers, learning materials, literacy programmes and vocational training. From rural Pakistan to Malawi, we're building classrooms where girls can learn, lead and thrive. See how this is unfolding in Malawi, where we're building schools for girls in one of the world's poorest nations.
Sponsorship and girls' education go hand in hand
For an orphaned girl, sponsorship is often the only thing standing between her and early marriage. By sponsoring an orphan, you can keep a girl safe, in school, and on a path to independence. And because educating girls is such an enduring good, it's one of the most rewarding forms of Sadaqah Jariyah you can give.
Empower a Girl Through Education
Give girls safe schools, female teachers and the chance to learn, lead and thrive. Support the Empower Her programme today.
Support Empower Her
