The population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double by 2050, and around two-thirds of the continent’s population is under 25 – with the economic gains to be made by including girls, girl empowerment could help the region transition to faster development. In addition, ensuring girls receive 12 years of education can help to combat climate change. Education tackles the underlying drivers of climate change while reducing adolescent girls’ vulnerability to its effects. In terms of climate change, studies estimate that family planning and girls’ education could potentially save around 85 gigatons of carbon emissions by 2050. It’s clear that investing in girls’ education and empowerment must be a priority for any nation working towards economic growth and social development.
Beyond the classroom Research has found that empowering girls requires more than just academic education. Equipping girls with the necessary preparation to succeed in life requires teaching them soft skills beyond their formal education.In addition to academic knowledge like basic literacy and mathematics skills, young people need to learn life skills. These include attitudes and beliefs that allow girls to adapt function and thrive in society, such as critical thinking, communication, negotiation, and leadership. Life skills translate into behaviours for coping with, navigating, or transforming life’s challenges. While the formal education sector delivers the basic skills girls need to navigate society, the non-formal sector has emerged as an important space for developing the life skills girls need in overcoming barriers such as gender discrimination and
poverty. Targeted interventions at critical periods during childhood can have numerous benefits. Multiple studies have made a compelling argument for empowering girls through education and the teaching of life skills, showing that this not only reduces gender inequality and poverty but can also make communities safer and offer opportunities for broader economic growth. Working to create a new future: Five organisations investing in girls Empowering girls requires a whole of society approach. While the government has a role to play in providing basic education and guaranteeing basic rights, civil society can intervene in providing girls with life skills that can empower them to change their futures. The following five South African organisations are working to uplift girls through empowerment projects on home soil.
Afrika Tikkun Afrika Tikkun aims to create a sustainable future by equipping disadvantaged children to become productive citizens. With a unique model, the organisation prioritises the sustenance, education, and social development of more than 20 000 children. The intervention spans the whole of the children’s early years – from infancy through young
adulthood, and into gainful employment. The organisation acknowledges that many children face challenges and disadvantages beyond their control. These may include lack of access to basics such as having parents, food, shelter, and healthcare. When these necessities are removed, children find themselves forced
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to focus on daily survival and are often pulled away from education and social advantages. Afrika Tikkun’s goal is to break the cycle of poverty, providing these children with hope, capability, and promise, in the form of education, life skills and confidence. Contact: Tel: +27 11 325 5914 Web: afrikatikkun.org
