By Leslie Alvarez | Donor Relations & Events Manager
Each year on International Day of the Girl, the world recognizes the rights, voices, and potential of girls everywhere. For Women’s Global Education Project (WGEP), this day is a powerful reminder of why our work in rural Senegal matters: when girls are educated, supported, and encouraged to lead, entire communities grow stronger.
This year, we celebrated girls like Aicha, an 11th-grade student from the village of Missirah and a participant in our Our Sisters Lead program. Through leadership and environmental management training, Aicha learned about the dangers posed by plastic pollution to the mangrove forests that protect Senegal’s coastline and support local livelihoods.
Inspired by what she learned, Aicha launched a community-wide effort to reduce waste. Speaking in her local language, she mobilized residents to stop throwing plastic into the sea, organized cleanups, and helped create a small waste-collection system. Her leadership has sparked a noticeable shift in community habits, and today, neighbors praise her initiative and dedication.
As Aicha shared:
“I want to continue this work and pursue a future in environmental management. I am so grateful to Women’s Global Education Project and its donors for believing in us, daughters of the land.”
Aicha’s story reflects the core purpose of International Day of the Girl: recognizing girls as powerful agents of change. With access to education, mentorship, and opportunities to lead, girls in Senegal are taking on issues that affect their families, their environment, and their futures.
Thank you for supporting programs that allow girls to learn, lead, and transform their communities—not just on International Day of the Girl, but every day of the year!
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By Miranda Thompson | Strategic Partnerships and Grants Manager
By Miranda Thompson | Strategic Partnerships and Grants Manager
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