Congratulations! We're commemorating the 3rd anniversary of Africa Educates Her Campaign
Happy 3rd anniversary
Africa Educates Her Campaign - Angola
International Day of the Girl Child
Invest in Girls' Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being
Video on demand
Fraternal greetings,
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our party. Our hybrid platform celebrates another milestone!
My name is Sofonie Dala. Today we gather here to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of Africa educates Her campaign.
An indispensable campaign that was launched in 2020 to overcome the threats that Covid-19 brought to the education of women and girls.
It was exactly 3 years ago that Africa Educates Her campaign was launched to bring awareness around issues that hinder girls and women from accessing education and a rallying call for youth, educators, civil society organisation development partners and AU Member States to take positive actions that guarantees girls return to school.
It was on September 11, 2020 that the campaign officially went live in Africa, but we in Angola started our investigations in August 2020. We have been running the campaign for 3 years, and today we are celebrating our 3rd anniversary.
For our program today, children and girls are learning about the sustainable development goals. Specifically the goals 4 and 5.
When we first discovered this community, these children and girls present here were very young, and many of them were outside the educational system even before the pandemic.
CLICK HERE TO SEE: Wow! We are Celebrating the successful completion of the Season 3 of Africa Educates Her Campaign-Angola. Don't Miss This Exciting Day! Webisode 41 (she-leads.blogspot.com)
https://she-leads.blogspot.com/2021/02/wow-we-are-celebrating-successful.html
But today, after 3 years of advocacy, we notice that the level of illiteracy in this community has reduced a lot. Many children have returned to school, and their parents have been mobilized to place them in schools. As a result, all the children here are already studying.
Isn't it true children?
Yes, we are already studying.
How many of you are still not studying?
That one.
Only one person is not studying. Whereas in 2019, 95% of these children here were not studying.
We also want to take this opportunity to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, which is celebrated annually on October 11th.
Are you understanding children?
Yes, we are understanding and learning.
When is the "International Day of the Girl Child" celebrated?
It is celebrated on the 11th.
Of which month?
of October.
Annually?
Yes.
The theme of International Day of the Girl this year is, Invest in Girls' Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being.
We want to ensure that all girls have the right to quality education, we want to advance the progress in gender equality, we want to ensure that all girls have access to everything from maternal health care and parenting support for adolescent mothers, to digital and life skills training; from comprehensive sexuality education to survivor support services and violence prevention programs.
As well as, continue to provide non-formal community training on sustainable development objectives so that they are able to face and combat humanitarian crises, climate change, among others. Reason why we are investing in SDG 5 gender equality and SDG 4, which is quality education for children in this rural community.
Therefore, today we are pleased to celebrate the third anniversary of Africa Educates Her campaign.
Happy anniversary!
Hurrahhhh!
Happy anniversary, happy anniversary, happy anniversary!
We want to study, we want to study, we want to study!
FEEDBACKS
INTERVIEW WITH TERESA
This is the third anniversary of the campaign that encourages many women to return to school. I have been actively participating since 2020.
I support sustainable development goal number 4 which is quality education. Let's all invest in girl's and women's education.
INTERVIEW WITH LUISA AND LAURINDA (MOTHER AND DAUGHTER)
TESTIMONY
Luisa is a 40-year-old woman and single mother, she is accompanied by her 20-year-old daughter Laurinda. The two participate in the Africa Educates Her campaign, since 2021. When we spoke to Luisa for the first time 3 years ago, she was not studying, she had left school in her youth due to early marriage. Her daughter Laurinda had stopped studying 3 years ago due to the negative impact of Covid-19.
Today we invite them to give their testimonies and tell us how in just 3 years their lives were transformed, and the important role that the Africa Educa Ela campaign played at the time.
INTERVIEW
Hello Africa Educates Her campaign!
Are you mother and daughter?
Yes we are.
Hi what's your name?
I'm Luisa.
Luisa, how are you and how old are you?
I am fine. I am 40 years old.
Wow, you are very beautiful and in good shape, you don't even look like you are 40 years old.
Thank you very much.
We are here to celebrate the 3rd anniversary our Africa Educates Her campaign in Angola.
A campaign that was born in 2020 due to the emergence of covid-19 with the aim of motivating girls to return to school during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
We welcome you because you participated in the campaign at the beginning when Covid-19 was raging at the top, at the time you were not studying. So we would like to know how your life is now, compared to before and after the covid-19 pandemic.
Well, before I wasn't studying because I already had a husband and I was raising my children so I couldn't study.
But then, I started to receive motivation from someone and I also started to interact with your campaign, which motivated me to go back to school.
I went back to studying again, I had to repeat the eighth and ninth grades, then I entered high school to do my nursing course. I am currently studying medicine.
Are you enjoying the experience of going back to school again?
Yes, I really enjoy studying.
It's beneficial, isn't it?
Yes, it is very useful and beneficial.
What advice would you give to those women who have also dropped out of school due to child pregnancy and child marriage, who one day hope to return to school too?
I would tell them not to lose hope. One day they will also be able to do what I did, they will be able to study again. They just need to have faith and that willpower.
And who is she?
She is my daughter, Laurinda
Is she your first daughter?
No, she is my second daughter.
How old is she?
I'm 20 years old.
Ok, Laurinda, tell us a little about yourself and how your life is going. The last time we spoke was at the beginning of Covid-19, you said that the school you were at was not stable and that you were also not studying due to Covid-19. Tell us how your life is going now.
Well, at first, covid-19 stopped many people's lives and it also stopped my studies. I stayed at home for over a year without studying. But thank God I'm back to school, I'm attending high school.
Are you still studying at the same school?
No, I'm not at that school anymore. Now I'm studying at a state school.
Is it more stable to study at a state school?
Yes, it's more stable, I'm also studying medicine.
Are you following the same course as your mother?
Yes, I am also studying medicine like my mother.
As you said, Covid-19 has negatively impacted the lives of many people, and many girls like you have not returned to school.
Do you know any girl who was also negatively impacted by Covid-19 and did not return to school?
Yes, I know many. Some unfortunately didn't go back to studying because they got pregnant and were paralyzed with no chance of going back to studying, others went back to studying.
For girls, I would advise them to go back to school, because education is the key to the future.
So the advice I give to girls is to go back to school. Those who don't have the possibility should do their best to go back to studying, at least look for a school tutoring place to educate themselves, because this is necessary.
Very good. Studying is necessary and important.
Alright. Thank you very much.
Bye see you soon.
Click here to watch their interview in early 2021
Luisa
https://she-leads.blogspot.com/2021/01/africa-educates-her-campaign-angola_17.html?m=1
Laurinda
https://sofoniedala.blogspot.com/2022/01/what-happened-on-this-blog-last-years.html
Song I don't go to school anymore - there's a world pandemic. Don't let your faith fade away!
We also want to thank and honor our gospel singer Loide Paulino for composing and singing the song for Africa Educates Her Campaign in Angola.
Back in 2020
Today we don't have interviews, we have a musical concert. These songs go out to all the people who were impacted by Covid-19 pandemic.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet our singer Loide with the song '' Don't let your faith fade away.''
https://sofoniedala.blogspot.com/2020/10/congratulations-we-are-celebrating.html?m=1
Africa Educates Her Campaign Youth Ambassador
At the end of 2020, Sofonie Dala was elected one of the 5 youth Ambassador throughout Africa, which will bring awareness of the campaign into the different regions of the continent. She immediately began advocating for the Africa Educates Her Campaign in her community and beyond.
https://sofoniedala.blogspot.com/2020/12/we-are-back-africa-educates-her.html
Watch the video of the concert at 55:45min is Sofonie Dala's speech
Video on youtube: https://youtu.be/pNUEP5gBmW0
As an alumni of the African Union / Center for Girls and Women's Education in Africa Sofonie Dala pledges to stand up for girls' right to education by supporting the Africa Educates Her Campaign in Southern Africa.Galeria
Insights & background
This campaign has impacted millions of people of people around the world in just 3 years. All our work related to the Africa Educates Her campaign is well documented and well maintained.
https://she-leads.blogspot.com/2023/09/coming-very-soon-celebrating-3rd.html
Launching in Angola for the first time, Maria was the first girl to be featured:
https://sofoniedala.blogspot.com/2020/08/covid-19-africa-educates-her-campaign.html?m=1
There is an urgent need for increased attention and resourcing for the key areas that enable girls to realize their rights and achieve their full potential.
Responding to girls’ calls for change, the global community must move beyond reaffirming commitments and invest boldly in the action needed to make that change. When we pay attention, we see that, already, many girls are championing solutions and change in their communities.
Did you know?
Nearly 1 in 5 girls are still not completing lower-secondary and nearly 4 in 10 girls are not completing upper-secondary school today.
Around 90 per cent of adolescent girls and young women do not use the internet in low-income countries, while their male peers are twice as likely to be online.
Globally, girls aged 5-14 spend 160 million more hours every day on unpaid care and domestic work than boys of the same age.
Adolescent girls continue to account for 3 in 4 new HIV infections among adolescents.
Nearly 1 in 4 married/partnered adolescent girls aged 15-19 have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner at least once in their lifetime.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 100 million girls were at risk of child marriage in the next decade. And now over the next ten years, up to 10 million more girls worldwide will be at risk of marrying as children because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
In 1995 at the World Conference on Women in Beijing countries unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing the rights of not only women but girls. The Beijing Declaration is the first to specifically call out girls’ rights.
On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.
The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.
Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during these critical formative years, but also as they mature into women. If effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world – both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders. An investment in realising the power of adolescent girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future, one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability.
Girls are breaking boundaries and barriers posed by stereotypes and exclusion, including those directed at children with disabilities and those living in marginalized communities. As entrepreneurs, innovators and initiators of global movements, girls are creating a world that is relevant for them and future generations.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015, embody a roadmap for progress that is sustainable and leaves no one behind.
Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is integral to each of the 17 goals. Only by ensuring the rights of women and girls across all the goals will we get to justice and inclusion, economies that work for all, and sustaining our shared environment now and for future generations.