The first half of the year has brought a lot of exciting things to us at AGE Africa! We are proud to announce that three of our AGE Scholars were accepted to University! This is an incredible achievement and we wish our scholars all the best as they continue their studies to better themselves and their communities and families.
This chance would not be possible without the comprehensive scholarships that we provide for some of the most underprivileged girls in rural Malawi. These scholarships support all of the costs that girls have when attending school, not just the uniforms and books. When they are secure, they are able to focus completely on school, meaning that 90 percent of them are graduating from secondary school while only 7 percent of girls across Malawi do.
This is possible because of donors like you and right now, we are looking to you to make the difference in the lives of 190 girls for the next school year through our annual Tri for Malawi Team Challenge. Each year, 50 athletes, including the Ambassador from the Republic of Malawi to the United States gather to participate in the Nations Triathlon to honor our girls who walk a triathlon sized distance each week just to get to school. If you want to help change lives for girls, their families, and communities forever, you can join or triathlon team here or you simply donate to our athletes goals or right here on GlobalGiving! We thank all of you that have supported us in the past and those that will join us and Tri for Malawi!
Hello everyone! We are proud to say that we are now celebrating Ten Years of work for girls in Malawi! It has been amazing how much we have grown and we cannot wait to continue to expand in the coming years!
At the beginning of this year, we now have 175 scholarships for girls to secondary school at 10 secondary schools in 5 districts in Malawi. AGE Africa is maintaining and growing numbers at all schools, including the three added last year, and plans to expand its program in the Mangochi district soon.
As well, we over 570 girls are participating in our unique CHATS: Creating Healthy Approaches to Success Curriculum. The girls are learning critical life skills and receive career guidance, allowing them to have more confidence and opportunities for the future.
Additionally, 22 of our students are currently supported in their endeavors in higher education including university and teacher training college. Our alumnae are also giving back to AGE Africa, as 73 of them are trained CHATs educators, mentoring the girls of their homes. We have started to reach many girls, changing their live but this year we continue to go girl by girl, school by school, village by village, transforming a nation together.
On Wednesday at the 10th annual Clinton Global Initiative, Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa (AGE Africa) joined 30 other organizations in making a historic $600 million collaborative commitment to girls’ education. Spearheaded by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and Julia Gillard, Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, ‘CHARGE:’ Collaborative Harnessing Ambition and Resources for Girls’ Education, involves 30 civil society organizations, companies, governments and bilateral agencies and will serve 14 million girls in the next 5 years.
“We know when girls have access to quality education in both primary and secondary schools, cycles of poverty are broken, economies grow, glass ceilings crack and potential is unleashed," said Secretary Clinton. “The scale of this commitment matches the gravity of the challenge. Ensuring every girl receives a quality secondary education will take all of us, governments, civil society, the private sector, multilateral organizations, the entire international community working together.”
In response to the announcement, AGE Africa’s Executive Director, Aubryn Allyn Sidle underscored the importance of CHARGE: “AGE Africa is incredibly excited to be included in this historic commitment to improve educational opportunities for girls globally,” Aubryn said. “The CHARGE Collaborative’s focus on secondary education is critical to ensuring that the gains made for girls in the last 14 years in primary schooling are not wasted. There are ‘glass ceilings’ for girls at the post-primary level especially in countries like Malawi—girls can see their future educational opportunities but cannot access them.”
Malawi is a country that has particularly poor statistics regarding girls’ educational attainment. Nationwide, less than 27% of girls enroll in secondary school, and less than one quarter of those who enroll will graduate.
AGE Africa's mission is to provide life-changing educational opportunities for young women in Malawi. Specifically, AGE Africa targets rural and impoverished Malawian girls with programs that address a holistic range of girls' needs to help them complete secondary school and transition successfully into life beyond. Through CHARGE, AGE Africa will commit to reaching 25% of all girls enrolled in rural community day secondary schools in Malawi over the course of 5 years by scaling up its core mentoring program, Creating Healthy Approaches To Success (CHATS). CHATS Girls Clubs utilize peer-to-peer facilitation, leadership, self-advocacy, career guidance and life skills education as tools to address the multiple causes of dropout and to give young women viable alternatives to early marriage and early pregnancy.
“We are very excited to be working with the Government of Malawi on this,” said Aubryn in an interview on Wednesday. “In particular we are grateful to the First Lady of Malawi, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for their support and for their continued commitment to improving educational outcomes for girls. We are so lucky to be working in an environment where there is a deep and abiding commitment to this issue. AGE Africa looks forward to helping the government achieve its educational goals, particularly those laid out in the Girls Education Strategy released this past spring.”
To facilitate and expand the work of CHARGE, No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project – a Clinton Foundation initiative led by Secretary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton – in partnership with Brookings Center for Universal Education, will commit to convene the collaborative, track progress, and enable outreach to future partners. Last year at CGI, Secretary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton announced the launch of No Ceilings with a call to fulfill the unfinished business of the 21st century, and make an evidence-based case for the full participation of women and girls around the globe. As No Ceilings evaluates data on the status of women and girls over the last 20 years, it's evident that ensuring equal and adequate education for girls, through secondary school and beyond, is essential for improving the health, stability, and prosperity of communities and countries around the world.
Located in Washington DC,AGE Africa’s mission is to provide life-changing opportunities to young women in Malawi through targeted initiatives in education, mentoring, and leadership development. To learn more visit www.ageafrica.org.
On September 7th, 2014, 55 athletes, humanitarians, and friends honored our girls who walk a triathlon-sized distance every week just to attend school by participating in the Nations Triathlon on behalf of AGE Africa. Together, the Tri for Malawi Team has raised over $145,000 – An incredible $15,000 over our original goal! Again this year, the Ambassador from the Republic of Malawi to the United States, His Excellency Steven Matenje, and the Deputy Chief of Mission, Jane Nankwenya, who joined the festivities and swam, biked, and ran with their Embassy Team Staff. A huge thank you to all of our extraordinary athletes, donors, and corporate partners, Rock Creek Group, Koltai & Co., and Coray Gurnitz Consulting for helping to realize our goal and providing 170 scholarships to needy girls this fall!
The Tri for Malawi Team Challenge is an annual AGE Africa fundraising initiative that promotes awareness and provides a creative opportunity to get involved and support girls’ education in Malawi. Each year, the team members pledge to raise between $500 and $10,000 individually to support comprehensive scholarships for AGE Africa’s scholars. Each year, the Ambassador from the Republic of Malawi to the United States, His Excellency Steve Matenje, joins fifty athletes to honor our girls who walk a triathlon-sized distance every week just to attend school.
For more information or to join the Tri for Malawi Team Challenge 2014, please email triathlon@ageafrica.org or go to http://ageafrica.org/tri-for-malawi/.
It’s that time of year again… We are officially gearing up for our biggest annual fundraiser, the Tri for Malawi Team Challenge! This year, the event will take place on Sunday September 7th in West Potomac Park, Washington D.C.
In partnership with the Nation’s Tri, our athletes will swim, bike, and run through Washington D.C.’s monument corridor to forever change the lives of 170 girls living in poverty in rural Malawi. The Ambassador from the Republic of Malawi to the United States, His Excellency Steve Matenje, will join our athletes once again to honor our girls who walk a triathlon-sized distance to go to school every week! Last year, Malawian Ambassador Steve Matenje and his Deputy Chief of Mission cycled 50 kilometers and ran 10 kilometers, respectively, to raise funds for AGE Africa and demonstrate their and the Malawi Government’s support for AGE Africa’s efforts.
To register, follow these 3 simple steps!
Please also check out the photos from the 2013 Tri Weekend by visiting and “liking” our Facebook page.
If you have any questions, please contact triathlon@ageafrica.org.
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