High schoolers raise money for Girls Ed project in Liberia

Led by Clara Grainger and Kaziah White, soon-to-be juniors at Fairview High School in South Boulder, Colo., the club Leaping for Liberia (LEAP) raised nearly $600 for the Girls Education International (GEI) scholarship program in Liberia. LEAP meets once each week over the lunch hour, during the school year. The group of up to 70 students usually discusses where they want the money they raise to go, any upcoming fundraisers, and ideas for new ways to raise money. Girls Ed recently caught up with the two 16-year-old leaders of the group to ask them a few questions about LEAP.

GEI: Why did you start LEAP?
Clara: We started LEAP because we wanted to get involved in girls' education in Africa, and none of the existing clubs were really focused on that.

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.
GEI: What enticed you about working with Africans?
Kaziah: Africa is a really interesting continent, and we wanted to know more about it. Also, we knew that in certain countries, education is a big issue. Since that's what we wanted to help with, we thought Africa would be a good choice.

GEI: How did you find Girls Education International?
Clara: We found Girls' Education International on the Internet when we looked up local non-profits working with education in Africa.

GEI: What have you learned so far from this experience? (Maybe both of you could answer this one).
Kaziah: I've learned a ton from this experience. It really helps things to stay in perspective and makes me realize how incredibly lucky I am to be able to get a wonderful education without having to pay for it. I also learned never to start out with a clothes drive for girls in Africa; it costs a ton of money, and we hadn't taken that into account. I really think that I have (and will continue to) gained a great deal from this experience.
Clara: Yes, I agree about the clothes drive. This has also made me realize how we all tend to take school for granted. It is something that is has been provided for us. Without the scholarships, these girls in Liberia couldn't go to school, yet we still complain when we have to get up and go somewhere that we haven't really had to work for. This experience will continue to keeps things in perspective.

GEI: What have been the most rewarding parts of this project?
Kaziah: Just knowing that in some small way we're helping someone get opportunities that we've always taken for granted before is a very rewarding experience. Also, knowing that the girls we're working with are our age is really motivating.

GEI: What have been some of your biggest frustrations?
Clara: Well, some big frustrations have been trying to get people to take us seriously, both inside and outside the club. When people meet us, their first thought tends to be, "they're still in high school!" and they seem to take it from there.

GEI: What are you future goals with LEAP?
Kaziah: We want to continue to work with Girls Education International, and we want to try and raise more money than we did this year. Also, starting up communications with the girls in Liberia would be great.

Check out the clubs' Facebook page by clicking here.

Dekegar Public School Students Out-Perform Other Schools

At Dekegar Public School in Montserrado County, Liberia, there were 20 7th graders during the 2008-2009 school year, 11 of whom were supported by the GEI-CGS Scholarship Program. Out of all our schools, the girls we support at Dekegar performed the best in the 2008-2009 school year. We continue to support these girls and will report on their grades for the 2009-2010 school year as soon as they arrive.

Famata Harris ranked 1st in her class, getting a 98% in Literature, Geography, and Health, but also getting above 90% in Science and Religious Education. Her average grade was just above 89%. Read about five of our girls and what they had to say on our blog:

Henriette Tamba ranked a close 2nd, and had an average grade of just below 89%. She excelled in Geography, History, Healthy, Science, Religious Education and Vocabulary.
Henriette is one of our self-supported students. She has lived on her own for many years, and survives by running a small business. “As for my education, thank God for the Girls Education International Program,” Henriette says. “It has granted me a scholarship to enable me to gain my education.”

Rebecca Kollie ranks 3rd in her class, with just above an 87% average. She excelled in English, Literature, Geography, Health, Science and Vocabulary. According to the principal at Rebecca’s school, she is a “smart, obedient, and hardworking student.” She lived with her mother, but because her stepfather regularly beat her and was generally unsupportive of her desire to pursue an education, she moved to her aunt’s house. She now lives in peace and is benefiting from the Girls’ Scholarship.

Annie Jouah ranks 5th in her class with a GPA of 85%. She excelled in Geography and Religious Education. Annie is another one of our self-supported students. She earns money by planting small crops and selling them locally. With the Common Ground Society/Girls Education International program, she was able to go to school. “Now she acts like a happy teenager,” says Emily Sherman-Davis, the Liberia Program Director.
According to Annie: “I’m grateful to be on the scholarship program, and I will do my best to make the supporters of this program proud.”

Graciel Holder ranks 10th and has a GPA of about 82%. Graciel excelled in Literature and Religious Education. She currently lives with her mother (no name given) and has never completed any academic school year due to financial problems. “My daughter is all I have in this life, and I really want the best for her,” says her mother. “But my hands are short. I’m not working, and she doesn’t have a dad. But thank God that with the help of the Girls Education International scholarship program she was able to be in school and was promoted to the next class due to the program.” Graciel’s mother continued by saying education was the most important way to help girls. “One can never repay those who are helping our girls,” her mother continued. “Many thanks to Girls Education International.

Atura Garway ranks 11th in and has a GPA of about 82%. She excelled in History and Vocabulary. Atura lived with her brother and his wife for many years, but was treated poorly by her husband’s wife. She was not supported in her efforts to get an education, and she was made to do a lot of work without any recompense. “I decided to move to live on my own,” says Atura. “Now I’m self supported and in school due to a scholarship program and I’m really grateful for that.”

The Mountain Fund's annual 2009 report

To all GEI supporters,
Without the support of The Mountain Fund these past three years, we would not have been able to run GEI. For more information and to see their 2009 Annual Report, please click here.
Thanks!
-Lizzy

GEI Newsletter #1, In other news...

In other news…

2009 year-end giving letter a huge success
GEI brought in nearly $2,000 with its year-end giving letter, including a $500 donation from Jacqui Hudson. Additionally, we received a $2,500 donation from Laura Molinari. Thanks to these ladies alone, we can pay for two entire semesters of the Liberia Scholarship Program. A huge thank you to all our donors! If you would like to donate, please visit our site (http://www.girlsed.org/Donate.htm). It costs just $71 to pay for one Liberian girl to go to school.

GEI’s new and improved website!
As GEI evolves and progresses, we feel our website should reflect these changes. Built by Mick Follari and the Trakkware team (www.trakkware.com), the new site retains its design, but will be moved to an easy-to-update content management system. Check the Web site www.girlsed.org in late May to view our updates.

Girls Ed welcomes three new volunteers
Over the past six months, three new volunteers joined the GEI team. Jancy Quinn is working on the five-year marketing plan and is responsible for the new logo. Stephanie Maltarich is providing valuable assistance with the newsletter. Luisa Giles is searching for potential donors and/or partners to support GEI projects.

Emily Sherman-Davis' second report on Liberia

This is Emily Sherman Davis’ second report

I made my first trip to Kakata, Margibi County on August 6, 2008, and returned to Monrovia on the evening of that same day . I also traveled to Bong County on August 14, 2008, where I spent two days. The purpose of both trips was to pay the fees of beneficiaries of the GEI/CGS Girls’ Scholarship.

We received the amount of US$1500.00 from GEI to pay the fees for the students who are on the scholarship. The prevailing rate is 60 LD to 1 US$ bring the total amount to LD 90,000.00 after the exchange was done.

I was not able to take pictures because the students are yet to start school in September. The month of August is strictly for registration and admission. We intend to take individual pictures of the students at their schools and in their uniforms when we visit during our first assessment.

We want to thank the GEI for the contributions it is making towards ensuring that girls can get education in Liberia

Very important Observation

During our calculations I observed that we had earlier told the GEI that the beneficiaries were only 42. This information was posted on the GEI blog. However the report sent for the selection had 47 (that is if you count the number against the selected schools). Unfortunately, neither institutions made that observation.

I am pleased to inform you that the beneficiaries are 47 as stated in the financial reports for payment:

St. Martins (Bong County) 10 students
Methodist (Bong County) 11 students
Dekegar ( Margibi County) 11 students
E. J. Yancy (Margibi County) 10 students
St. Christopher (Margibi County) 5 students

Total Beneficiaries 47 students

I think it is very important to make this clarification.

Sincerely yours
Emily Sherman-Davi
Project Coordinator – GEI/CGS Scholarship Fund
Program Director - CGS

Heidi Wirtz an Inspiring Soles semifinalist

We recently discovered that Heidi was voted as one of Outside Mag and Croc's Inspiring Soles, which means she gets $5,000 that she can donate to her favorite charity. This will pay for our Liberia program through spring of 2010! This is fantastic news.

On another bright note, we have a really great potential partner to work with in Pakistan, so perhaps we will finally be able to get our Khane project going next year.

Finally, we are having a fundraiser in early October. It will be at the B-Side restaurant. I'll post some more news on that in a bit.
-Lizzy

It's been awhile

It's been a while since I've written! The board has decided to focus 90% on raising enough funds to support the Liberia program. We have sent them $1500, and that will pay for the first semester for the 42 girls we are supporting (with education scholarships). I am still amazed that just $1500 can pay to educate 42 girls! This has got to be one of the coolest things I have ever been a part of. We are educating 42 girls in Liberia, giving them a chance to better their lives. It's just, well, really really cool.

A friend sent me this video. I encourage all who read this blog to check it out: http://www.girleffect.org/#/video/

In other news, we are continuing to attempt to find an NGO in Pakistan with whom we can work on our Khane project. We are still committed to those little girls, but we realized that we cannot do much unless we can ensure 100% that the money is going to go where we say it should go. We have a good lead with an organization over there, and we are in the beginning stages of developing a relationship.

We are also still interested in working with the Empowering Women of Nepal group, and helping the girls at the Child Labor Rescue program house (run by EWN), but we've had to put that on hold until we can get our Liberia project totally funded. We actually have enough money to pay for the project, which is why we committed to it. But we will drain the coffers entirely if we don't raise more money. Thus, we have a variety of fundraisers that we are beginning to plan. Some of them are really neat. I'm excited!

Girls Ed to Host Fundraiser June 26 featuring author/alpinist Pete Takeda

Press Release
Contact:
Lizzy Scully
303-903-2768

On Thursday, June 26, from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the Hangar Restaurant in Estes Park is hosting a benefit for Girls Education International, a nonprofit organization founded by North Face athlete Heidi Wirtz and Rock & Ice Senior Contributing Editor Lizzy Scully. The fundraiser will feature tunes by local musician Justin Faye and a slide show by author and mountaineer Pete Takeda. The $35 ticket includes a BBQ, unlimited New Belgium Brewery beer, and raffle tickets for dozens of items. There will also be a silent auction.

Takeda recently published a book entitled, “An Eye at the Top of the World: The Terrifying Legacy of the Cold War’s Most Daring CIA Operation.” In the early 1980s, the CIA decided to put a nuclear-powered spy device on the top of Nanda Devi—one of the Himalayas’ most remote and forbidding peaks. The goal was to gather information on Chinese troop movements. Some time later, the apparatus stopped sending signals; it was as though it had completely disappeared. The device was never recovered, and now, nearly four pounds of plutonium, locked in the glacier beneath the mountain are moving ever closer to the source of the Ganges River.

“That’s enough manmade poison to kill every human on earth, or to produce a bomb capable of flattening a city,” explained Takeda.

For this book, Takeda not only interviewed surviving members of the original expedition—during which the climbers huddled around the spy device for warmth given off by the decay of radioactive elements—he retraced their steps to the peak itself. While en route, Takeda has his own harrowing experience with the violent forces of the mountain, and was almost swept away in an avalanche. To learn more, come to the Hangar Restaurant and check out Takeda’s exciting show.

Girls Education International (GEI) is a 501(c)3 operating under the umbrella of The Mountain Fund. GEI currently has two operational programs and two additional programs that they hope to launch by 2009. The profits from this fundraiser will go toward their Liberia Scholarship program, which provides scholarships to 42 girls in the mountainous regions of Liberia, and also to one of their Nepal scholarship programs, which provides scholarships to two girls in Kathmandu. For more information, please visit: www.girlsed.org, or call 303-903-2768.

All donations, including the $35 dinner ticket, are tax deductible. Raffle and silent auction items provided by: Glassworks of Estes, The Meadow Mountain Café, Evolv shoes, The North Face, SkirtSports, La Sportiva shoes, jewelry by Suspended Stone Design, photography by Topher Donahue, Majka Burhardt’s book, “Vertical Ethiopia,” signed copies of Takeda’s book, and many other items.

Lizzy Scully Slide Show to Help Fund GEI Liberia Project

I'm heading up to Seattle on March 30 and will be doing a slide show for Feathered Friends on April 3rd. The slide show will be about Heidi's & my 12-year climbing partnership and friendship, and how our foreign expeditions inspired us to start Girls Ed. There will be photos from our expeditions as well as video, plus photos of our projects in Liberia, Pakistan, and Nepal. This door money from this show will be donated directly to our project in Liberia. For more information, please contact the cool folks there at: (206) 292-2210. There address is: 119 Yale Avenue N., Seattle, Washington 98109.