Our Mission is to tackle prejudice against girls worldwide and expand their freedom and opportunities through education and leadership.
Beginnings...
Back in 2004, a group of 12-year-olds and several African women who work here in the Washington, DC area along with a few community activists met at a neighborhood cafe. We discussed the discrimination against girls in many developing countries and how educating girls holds the key to solving just about every problem including reducing disease and ending poverty to eventually increasing the number of women in leadership positions throughout the world.
School Girls Unite evaluated the countries identified by UNICEF as having the worst situation and we decided to focus on Mali where the majority of girls never graduate from elementary school, many become child brides and the majority of women are illiterate. We connected with an established nongovernmental organization in Bamako, the capital of Mali, who recruited an incredible group of girls who were attending different high schools. Les Filles Unies pour l'Education became our sister organization. Our unique collaboration and shared decision making have been recognized and we are the proud winners of Global Youth Volunteering by Innovations for Civic Participation.
The founding members who are in college still help steer School Girls Unite and three of these students continue to serve as full voting members on the Board of Directors of the Youth Activism Project, the nonprofit parent organization.
Our Scholarship Program
We collaborate as philanthropists. School Girls Unite collects donations to cover the costs of sending 70 girls in Mali to school. Les Filles Unies pour l'Education manages this scholarship program that includes paying school fees, school supplies, books and tutors. These older students serve as role models to these elementary school students as well as their parents and the village elders. Lack of separate latrines, child marriage and other challenges facing girls increase our cross-cultural exchange and shared problem solving. The first hand experience from visiting these rural schools increases our knowledge as well as our credibility when we raise public awareness and meet with important decision makers.
Our Leadership Persuading Powerful People
School Girls Unite students and the young women leaders in Mali act as change agents advocating for the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, specifically gender equality and universal basic education as well as child marriage prevention and other human rights issues. These young activists make speeches, plan events to raise public support, do radio interviews, participate with the Global Campaign for Education which includes meeting with celebrities like Shakira as well as decision makers such as the Mali Minister of Education to Members of Congress.
Recent Highlights
• About a dozen School Girls Unite activists participated in an advocacy day at Congress organized by Plan USA. In addition to attending a Human Rights Commission hearing on forced marriage, they delivered over 11,000 e-letters urging action on the child marriage prevention bill signed by Plan USA supporters from all 50 states.
Mamadou, 12 and one of the boys in SGU, also delivered his passionate letter to Senator Mikulski’s foreign affairs aide which got noticed by the International Women’s Health Coalition: http://blog.iwhc.org/2010/07/prevent-child-marriage-help-give-millions-of-girls-a-choice-and-a-chance/
•People from all over the US as well as Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia and India have downloaded our free e-book, Girls Gone Activist! This action guide that tells our story and strategies that we hope will inspire thousands of girls to join the movement to give every girl in the world the same chances we have!
• In Mali, an eleven-year-old girl whom we have sponsored since she was in first grade and would have started sixth grade in October 2009 now is married to a much older man. Les Filles Unies pour l'Education continues to meet with parents and village elders to discuss how to keep girls going to school and delay child marriage.
• School Girls Unite at Oakland Mills Middle School in Columbia, Maryland has been active for three years. In addition to organizing a series of fundraisers, these student activists persuaded Congressman Sarbanes to become a sponsor of Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act and Education for All Act. Currently they have produced The Cause video and created The Book, which is a giant petition and hundreds of signatures are being collected at schools throughout the county. Two students made a compelling presentation to the Howard County Board of Education about their global activism. Check out http://ksaunderson.webs.com/schoolgirlsunite.htm
• School Girls Unite at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School recently organized and completed a successful raffle that raised awareness and money for our scholarship program. Check out on our Blog our recent day of lobbying at Congress during the Global Campaign for Education that started with a news conference with Jessica Alba and wrapped up with great discussion about foreign assistance funding with U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski and other meetings.
• Allison and Sheenali, two 12th graders, read a newspaper article about School Girls Unite that sparked the idea to do a senior project together. They both did considerable research and wrote impressive papers on the impact of educating girls in increasing health and economic development, including agricultural production. They produced a video that was shown to all the global studies classes to raise awareness about this crisis. They made 60 friendship bracelets and along with sales of T-shirts, raised $303 for our scholarship program in Mali. As Allison wrote in her paper: "Segregation needs to become an idea of the past...In order for the future of the world to exist, girls must be placed in school." Our thanks to these two global citiens and Poolesville High School for making a real difference in the world!
TV Story of School Girls Unite
This story produced by Montgomery County Public Schools TV features
School Girls Unite skyping with Les Filles Unies in Mali and planning a major event.
Benefit Concert for Girls in Mali
Catch some music and praise by the Embassy of Mali and a Member of Congress who speak at our benefit concert in the Washington, DC area.
International Girls Summit
This powerpoint was part of our presentation at the International Girls Summit 2007.
Awards & Recognition
• School Girls Unite won Women of Tomorrow Award from the Maryland Commission for Women
• First founding member Shannon Sullivan won Middle School Student Prudential Spirit of Community Award
• School Girls Unite was one of eight country teams to participate in the International Girls Summit
• Filles Unies & School Girls Unite won Innovations in Civic Participation Global Youth Volunteering International Winner
• School Girls Unite leader Molara Obe won Angels in Action Award
• Dandio Coulibaly, youngest member, selected as New Moon magazine's 25 Most Beautiful Girls from the Inside Out
• Filles Unies President Bintou Soumaoro invited to speech at U.N. Reaffirming Human Rights For All Conference in Paris
• Mira Fleming, Child Marriage Prevention Project Coordinator, won the U.N. Youth Assembly's Achievement Award
• Featured in the Washington Post, TIME for Kids, WPGC, FOX, CBS, MSNBC TV
Thanks to Our Supporters!
Our Board of Directors
About Coordinator Wendy Schaetzel Lesko
SCHOOL GIRLS UNITE
Youth Activism Project, Inc.
Non-profit 501(c)(3)Tax ID 75-3163810
Washington, DC area address: P.O.Box E
Kensington, MD 20895 USA
Tel: 1-800-KID-POWER or 301-929-8808 Fax: 301-929-8907
www.schoolgirlsunite.org
