Former first lady Michelle Obama is making a new effort to help girls overcome educational barriers in some of the world's most economically disadvantaged regions.
The Obama Foundation's Girls' Opportunity Alliance pledged Saturday to raise $2.5 million for dozens of grassroots groups that promote the education of teenage girls by covering schooling costs, challenging patriarchal practices such as child marriage, counseling victims of sexual abuse and providing other forms of support.
“These groups are changing the way girls see themselves in their communities and in our world, helping to create the leaders we need for the bright future we all deserve,” Obama said in a video released Oct. 11, the International Day of the Girl Child. “Because when our girls succeed, we all succeed.”
Almost three-quarters of the 119 million girls out of school worldwide are of secondary school age, according to the United Nations Children's Fund. The Opportunity Alliance for Girls is an outgrowth of an Obama White House initiative that invested $1 billion in U.S. government programs promoting the education of teenage girls abroad—launched in 2018 with a focus on helping the population ages 10 to 19 pursue higher education.
But the latest announcement comes amid sharp warnings from international aid groups that budget cuts will reverse recent progress. UNICEF predicts that a 24% drop in global education funding in rich countries will lead to six million girls dropping out of school by the end of next year.
“I think this need is more critical now than ever,” said Girls Opportunity Alliance Executive Director Tiffany Drake. “We were just in Mauritius and we heard over and over again that organizations need funding. They need support.”
The Girls Opportunity Alliance convention in Mauritius in early October brought together members of its network from Asia and Africa. The high demands on local leaders doing tireless work with few resources made this, in Drake's opinion, perhaps the most moving meeting they had ever organized.
But Jackie Bomboma, founder of the Young Strong Mothers Foundation in Tanzania, said connecting with other influential women encouraged her to realize she was not alone. Receiving the latest GOA grants, she said that the Obama Foundation's support not only brings financial support, but also increases the credibility of the international community and additional channels for obtaining resources.
Having grown up without a mother and experienced teen pregnancy, Bomboma said Obama's example has also given her and the girls she serves confidence. Her nonprofit organization provides mental health services, job training, entrepreneurial skills development, and sexual health classes to hundreds of girls at risk of child marriage, teen pregnancy, and school dropout.
“We call ourselves ‘watoto wa Michelle Obama,’ which means ‘Michelle Obama’s children,’” she said. “So everyone is so proud to have a mother like her who is very strong, very powerful and very loving.”
The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund is intentionally designed to provide a variety of support. Drake said anyone can apply for up to $50,000. The grant does not support general operations but is directed toward a specific project intended by the recipient.
By joining the network, community leaders gain access to monthly online trainings and in-person meetings where they share strategies and learn from larger NGOs such as UNICEF and Save the Children.
Girls Opportunity Alliance funds an undisclosed amount and then uses its wide reach to help organizations raise the rest of the funds through GoFundMe pages. Campaigns are publicly promoted on social media and to a donor network of celebrities and corporations.
The idea, Drake said, was to use their “megaphone” to attract additional attention and gain more support for organizations that often struggle to survive in more remote locations. Girls Opportunity Alliance hopes that every person will want to join them.
“We didn't want to just tell people and say, 'Google, how can you help,'” Drake said. “We wanted to give them a place where they can operate.”
