By Heather Mahardy | Founding President
Dear Friends of Enhance Worldwide,
Our summer school program -- now in its 5th year -- ensures investment in girls year round. Girls in resource-poor settings who attend summer programs are less likely to encounter sexual abuse and exploitation and are more likely to return to school in the fall. And that's exactly what we want: to ensure that our girls have a safe summer and then walk back into the classroom in September. Our summer program combines education, protection, and social-emotional learning to provide girls with exciting, engaging experiences to ensure their wellbeing and increase their academic success.
And our team in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia continues to confront new challenges. The Malala Fund's Full Force initiative reports that nearly one billion girls and young women lack the 21st century skills to succeed and that this gender digital divide is growing. In sub-Saharan Africa, data demonstrates an urban-rural digital divide wider than other developing regions of the Global South, with student-to-device ratios exceeding 100:1 and women's internet access is 25% lower than men's.
Digital access and literacy are a core component of our summer school program to challenge this gender digital divide. Your generous support provides a continuum of resources from primary school through university/technical school, ensuring girls and young women are empowered in rapidly changing world.
On behalf of the entire Enhance Worldwide team, thank you for standing up for girls!
- Ashley Lackovich-Van Gorp & Heather Mahardy
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