Project Good for Girls Annual Fundraiser 2024

Happy International Day of the Girl 2024!

Please join us once again in commemorating the day by supporting our annual fundraiser in support of girls' education and skills-building!

[Give online, or see below to buy tickets to an in-person event in NYC in connection with this fundraiser.]

It's hard to believe, but this is Project Good for Girls 10th anniversary! For the last decade - through the generosity of our supporters - we have supported small non-profit organizations working with disadvantaged adolescent girls, with micro-grants to pilot initiatives or help them expand their programs. We have worked mainly in Ethiopia and Afghanistan.

For this year (2024-2025), we are raising funds specifically to help our project partner - Girls Gotta Run Foundation in Ethiopia - pilot an exciting new initiative - SELF-DEFENSE TRAINING!

Why self-defense?

Abduction or 'telefa' continues to be practiced in Ethiopia, where men kidnap girls, rape them, and then legally and culturally claim them as wives. The issue began receiving international attention due to the brave actions of girls who stood up for themselves and women who supported them, including as depicted in the 2014 film 'Difret'. The practice is prevalent particularly in the Southern region (where the GGRF Soddo programme is), with estimates that 1 in 5 child marriages are due to telefa.

The mothers of our athletic scholars in Soddo have specifically asked for self-defense training for their daughters in hopes this will prove a deterrent. The issue was raised during a recent visit by GGRF staff to a Mothers' Group meeting, where the women shared that they feared for their daughters' safety as they walked to and from school. One mother, Mebrat, described how she was abducted as a girl and later abandoned as a pregnant young woman. She is raising her daughter alone, working as a hairdresser. "Now I want better for my daughter than the life I have had. My main dream is that my daughter will choose her own path, as I was not allowed to do," she said.

In May 2024, we provided a $4000 micro-grant to help kickstart an initiative to integrate self-defense training into the life-skills portion of the scholarship program. There is significant interest by girls and their families to participate. Now, we are hoping to raise more to help develop the effectiveness and sustainability of the programme.

IF YOU LIVE IN NYC:

PLEASE JOIN US AT THE PROJECT GOOD FOR GIRLS HOLIDAY PARTY, FEATURING SENSEI AMELIA SHEFTALL

When: December 11th, 2024, 7.00-9.00pm

Where: David Dupuy Studios, 45 West 29th Street, Suite 301

What: Some wine, some food, an inspiring speaker, and fun mingling and conversation

Tickets: $25 (or more appreciated!). Use the donate button on this fundraiser to buy, then send names of attendees through our website - www.goodforgirls.org

PARTNER PROJECT SUCCESSES

Girls Gotta Run Foundation (GGRF)

In Ethiopia, where GGRF operates, although 95% of girls begin their education, only about 20% complete secondary school and just a tiny fraction go on to tertiary education. Child marriage, where girls are married off before age 18 (often right when they hit puberty) continues to be a serious problem. Once a girl is married, her access to education and peer networks ceases, and motherhood follows soon after despite the girl still being a child herself.

GGRF’s mission – through athletics and life skills – is to increase the number of girls staying in school, while also increasing their self-confidence, access to economic assets, and control over life choices.

In Bekoji and Sodo, over 175 girls participate in the programme receiving full athletic scholarships which provide tuition, exam fees, school lunches, school uniforms and hygiene supplies, full running gear, life-skills education, and access to showers and laundry. Medical subsidies are also provided for each girl and her mother. The athletic scholars meet three times per week to run as a team and train under the direction of their Coach. Their schedule allows them to train without sacrificing the time they need for homework and family obligations. The Girls Gotta Run teams also compete in one local race annually.

Since the launch of its athletic scholars programme in 2014, 98% of girls who completed the programme have delayed marriage and childbirth (before 18 or before completing secondary school). 96% have finished or are on track to finish secondary school, and a significant number have gone on to college and tertiary vocational studies. In addition, GGRF has made an important impact on the community, reaching over 1400 people including parents, siblings, and community leaders.

A few years ago, Project Good for Girls helped GGRF to establish savings and entrepreneurship groups for the mothers of the athletic scholars. These Mothers' Groups are provided with a 5-day business development workshop, seed capital to establish a savings group, and the weekly oversight of a female savings group manager. At the end of the pilot three-year program, participating mothers were invited to continue to invest in and develop their savings groups. This program strategy equips mothers with the knowledge, tools, and mentorship needed to build financially resilient futures for themselves and their families. Many of these women were once child brides themselves, robbed of their youth and potential -- they are committed to a different future for their daughters, and to raising each other up to forge their independence and improve the lives of their families.

As partner, we hope to continue supporting GGRF to expand its support for adolescent girls both joining the programme, and as alumni so they can continue with their studies and give back by becoming life-skills mentors to the younger girls. We also hope to help strengthen the Mothers' Groups to promote community-led women's and girl's empowerment activities.