The US foreign aid funding freeze is threatening the stability of community-based organizations and their vital work for children and young people worldwide.
Global Fund for Children supports a network of community-based organizations in West Africa that are helping girls aged 6 to 18 achieve educational success, tackling violence against girls in their own communities, and powering girls to exercise agency and autonomy over their bodies and their lives.
Our partners in this initiative are primarily located in the rural border areas of Liberia and Sierra Leone and across across Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, where girls and young women often face higher rates of violence and more limited access to education than in the capital cities. Diverse in programming and experience, the local groups in this initiative share the following attributes:
They are led by women and/or by youth
They work to address the root causes of violence against women and girls, with an emphasis on ending female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), child marriage, and sexual abuse
They have experience working with and empowering adolescent girls
Our partners bravely address the barriers girls face in accessing education and reaching their full potential by:
Ensuring a return to school for girls, addressing academic gaps, and creating complementary learning spaces.
Working with young people, schools, communities, and local governments to remove obstacles to girls’ education.
Advocating for girls’ rights, including the right to education, and for an end to harmful practices like child marriage and female genital cutting that create barriers to education for girls.
Empowering girls and boys to make informed decisions about their sexual health and to prevent unplanned teen pregnancy.
Building expanded and more dynamic networks of grassroots organizations, and sharing learning opportunities to help achieve education programming and advocacy goals.
GFC is providing these local organizations with flexible funding and capacity strengthening services to aid their growth and effectiveness.
Project Partners
Action pour le Développement et la Protection de la Famille
Côte d’Ivoire | Man
Action pour le Développement et la Protection de la Famille (ADPF) is committed to improving education and health outcomes for those most affected by poverty, loss, and conflict. ADPF works with schools, communities, and the local government to reintegrate out-of-school children, especially girls, into school.
Center for Advocacy and Sustainable Empowerment
Bo | Sierra Leone
Dedicated to removing barriers to girls’ education in Sierra Leone, Center for Advocacy and Sustainable Empowerment (CASE SALONE) empowers girls to stay in school, realize their potential, and take on leadership positions. Working in schools and communities, CASE SALONE establishes student empowerment clubs; trains girls in leadership and public speaking; and provides girls with safe spaces and counseling services.
Children’s Forum Network – Kenema
Kenema | Sierra Leone
In a community where the prevalence of FGM/C is over 90%, Children’s Forum Network – Kenema creates safe spaces for children to discuss and raise public awareness about the issues affecting their lives. A local, autonomous branch of Sierra Leone’s national children’s parliament, CFN-Kenema also organizes trainings and conferences on specific child rights issues to help young people speak out against child rights violations.
Club des Jeunes Filles Leaders de Guinée
Guinea | Nzérékoré
Founded by a 17-year-old girl, Club des Jeunes Filles Leaders de Guinée (CJFL-G) is an association of girls and young women activists aged 14 to 24 who are committed to fighting child marriage, female genital cutting, and any other form of violence and discrimination against girls and women. CJFL-G also works to keep girls in school.
Community Healthcare Initiative
Bopolu | Liberia
With a focus on rural teenagers, Community Healthcare Initiative (CHI) educates girls about their sexual and reproductive rights, health and hygiene, and the harmful effects of early marriage and FGM/C, while also providing safe spaces for them to discuss issues affect them. CHI also advocates at the national level for better protections for girls across Liberia.
Femme Autonome Espoir de Demain-Guinée
Guinea | Nzérékoré
Femme Autonome Espoir de Demain-Guinée (FAED-G) is led by young women who have succeeded in their education and are united to pool their knowledge and experiences to address cultural and educational barriers facing disadvantaged children, especially girls.
Génération Femme du Troisième Millénaire
Côte d’Ivoire | Danané
Génération Femme du Troisième Millénaire (GFM3) is a national organization that contributes to local development by improving the living conditions of women, youth, and children in rural and peri-urban areas. GFM3’s areas of focus include education for all; gender equity and women’s rights; and the protection of children’s rights.
Protection contre les Violences sur les Femmes, Enfants, la Paix dans les communautés et l’Environnement
Guinea | Nzérékoré
Protection contre les Violences sur les Femmes, Enfants, la Paix dans les communautés et l’Environnement (PROVIFEPE) promotes gender equality, girls’ education, and the protection of children against harmful practices in rural communities in Nzérékoré, Guinea.
SILOE
Côte d’Ivoire | Danané
SILOE, which means “river of healing,” promotes and protects the rights and wellbeing of children in urban and peri-urban areas. The organization works with communities, schools, young people, and authorities to remove barriers to girls’ education.
Union des Jeunes Dynamiques de Man
Côte d’Ivoire | Man
Union des Jeunes Dynamiques de Man (UJDM) is a group of young people committed to promoting peace and solidarity among young people as well as building their capacity to be agents of change in their communities.
Women Against Violence and Exploitation in Society
Bo | Sierra Leone
Women Against Violence and Exploitation in Society (WAVES) develops the capacity of girls in Bo, Sierra Leone, both in and out of school, to speak out against sexual and gender-based violence, advocate for sexual and reproductive rights, and become agents of change in their communities. The organization also conducts extensive community outreach and advocates for policy change to benefit girls and women.
Empowering communities to lead their own development: A pathway to sustainable change in Africa
Global Fund for Children (GFC), with support from the TIDES Foundation and People’s Postcard Lottery, is implementing in a groundbreaking project in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Using GFC’s flexible funding model, community-based organizations are supported to decrease incidents of gender-based violence and improve educational access for girls in the region.
Most people were not taught comprehensive sexuality education and that has led them to make the wrong decisions in terms of sexual activities. A lack of knowledge on comprehensive sexuality education has led them to have a lack of information about their body parts and about when and how to be sexually active.
Jonathan Kargbo, AGS participant, Sierra Leone
Working with GFC and other partners has not only been a rewarding experience but a powerful testament to our collective commitment towards empowering and amplifying the voices of young people across the region. The AGS has provided a platform where the aspirations, challenges, and resilience of adolescent girls are not only acknowledged but celebrated, and it has been my utmost joy witnessing and experiencing that.
Dora Muhanuuzi, The Fund for Global Human Rights
I have never been in a platform where 80% of participants are adolescents, my peers. I was happy to see that the girls can take and make decisions and discuss on issues they face and lead the process. In many gatherings, it has been older people leading and making decisions; therefore, the feeling of me as an adolescent owning the space was extraordinary.
Project Partners
