Teenage girls in South Sudan are being forced into marriages with much older men. Girls that drop out of school are the most at risk of becoming child brides. Drop in the Bucket has worked in water & sanitation in East Africa since 2006. We recently expanded our program to include scholarships to girls who are good students but lack family support. We want these girls to get an education, so they have a choice in who they marry. Educated girls earn more money which breaks the cycle of poverty.
130 million girls did not go to school today. In many parts of the world this is normal. Early marriage is a big reason why families do not send their girls to school. In places like South Sudan, it is common for girls to be forced into early marriages with much older men. These girls have no choice and the money goes to their families not them. Educated girls know their rights and know they can say no. By getting girls in school we can help reduce the number of child brides in South Sudan.
South Sudan has the lowest number of girls in school of any country on Earth. In fact, according to the UN a 15 year-old girl in South Sudan has a higher chance of dying during childbirth than of graduating high school. Uneducated girls who don't know their rights are more likely to accept becoming an arranged marriage. Over the last two years, we have sponsored 53 girls, but we need to do more.
Our goal over the next two years is to identify at least 100 girls who are doing well at school and getting good grades, but who have unsupportive parents who want them to drop out and marry for money. We want to keep these girls in school and help them reach their full potential.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
