Stella, Malawi 2012
We met this young and very brave and determined girl, Stella. She were forced by her mother to quit school due to the economic constraints of the household. But Stella, having come into contact with the work done by IM and Creccom, reacted differently than what would normally be the case. She ran away, seeking help and demanding to return to school. Usually girls in her situation quit school, often marry young (as young as 13) and become pregnant. Thereby never ever receive any education and with that loosing any real chance of getting out of poverty herself.
The local mothers group, one of many parts of the IM-Creccom initiative "GESI", talked to the mother who changed her mind. Stella is now back in school and doing excellently.
Girls Education Support Initiative (GESI), is funded by IM (IM-SOIR) and are addressing the complexities constraining girls education.
The partnership through Girls Education Support Initiative (GESI) is an integrated approach to address challenges facing girl children through community mobilization including meeting girls’ post-primary education cost.
Creccom explains that the Malawian situation have shown that socio-economic, socio-cultural and school related factors contribute to girls’ poor access to, retention, and performance in school, "but underlying all these factors, however, is a widely shared, negative attitude towards girls’ education. Malawi is a patriarchal society embedded with gender stereotypes that place a low value on girls’ education. Early marriages and pregnancies are commonly cited causes of low girls’ participation in education. "
Photo and copyright: Erik Törner, IM Individuell Människohjälp www.manniskohjalp.se
Stella, Malawi 2012
We met this young and very brave and determined girl, Stella. She were forced by her mother to quit school due to the economic constraints of the household. But Stella, having come into contact with the work done by IM and Creccom, reacted differently than what would normally be the case. She ran away, seeking help and demanding to return to school. Usually girls in her situation quit school, often marry young (as young as 13) and become pregnant. Thereby never ever receive any education and with that loosing any real chance of getting out of poverty herself.
The local mothers group, one of many parts of the IM-Creccom initiative "GESI", talked to the mother who changed her mind. Stella is now back in school and doing excellently.
Girls Education Support Initiative (GESI), is funded by IM (IM-SOIR) and are addressing the complexities constraining girls education.
The partnership through Girls Education Support Initiative (GESI) is an integrated approach to address challenges facing girl children through community mobilization including meeting girls’ post-primary education cost.
Creccom explains that the Malawian situation have shown that socio-economic, socio-cultural and school related factors contribute to girls’ poor access to, retention, and performance in school, "but underlying all these factors, however, is a widely shared, negative attitude towards girls’ education. Malawi is a patriarchal society embedded with gender stereotypes that place a low value on girls’ education. Early marriages and pregnancies are commonly cited causes of low girls’ participation in education. "
Photo and copyright: Erik Törner, IM Individuell Människohjälp www.manniskohjalp.se