Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Area of Work: Education

Impact: 70 scholarships

Years in Partnership: 3

Educate a Girl Congo

You can make a huge difference in girls’ lives when you support girls’ education in Congo. Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the World Bank, “in 2018, 72% of the population, especially in the North West and Kasaï regions, was living in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 a day.” Many girls from poor families have been deprived of an education. Attendance rates at secondary school are particularly low.

Education got a big boost in September 2019, when DR Congo became one of the last countries in the world to eliminate school fees. Overnight, an additional 2.5 million children from poor families were able to attend school. However, school fees are still required for secondary school and private schools, which many of our Educate-a-Girl scholarship recipients attend because few villages have public schools.

When you invest in girls’ education, you gain healthy dividends. Education boosts girls’ future earnings, provides protection from early marriage, and improves health and economic outcomes for their children when they start families. 

My name is Zanizo Kalimbiro, I am in grade 12 of agri forestry. The GEP SCHOLARSHIP project helped me a lot by relieving the burden on my parents who are farmers. Since then I am not chased out of school anymore and I can study properly without difficulty. As result, I was among the best in my class with 70.8% at this quarter.