Valuable Girl: Empower 100,000 Girls in Egypt

Harriet Martineau -English writer and sociologist- once said “Women, like men, must be educated with a view to action, or their studies cannot be called education.”

Our Valuable Girl Project teaches girls and young women to put what they learn into compassionate actions where they give back to their societies and take on leadership roles.

Recently, a group of the Valuable Girl Project's girls put these skills to use at a kidney dialysis clinic in Qena, a city in the South of Egypt. As a team, the girls noticed that many of the clinic’s patients required lifesaving treatment, but the premises was dilapidated.

Among the myriad issues at the clinic, there was no air conditioning. In Qena, temperatures can rise to life-threatening levels. The clinic’s air vents had been neglected for so long that there were animals living in them.

The girls first documented each challenge they wanted to address. Next, they came up with an action plan, under the guidance of local leaders and hospital staff. They presented this comprehensive plan to clinic managers. Finally, they recruited community members’ assistance.

Together, the girls assembled a team of local laborers. They worked tirelessly every day renovate the clinic. The girls cleaned bathrooms, scrubbed floors, and recruited friends and family to help. Their team was able to completely overhaul the clinic and create a sanitary and comfortable environment for patients.

The VGP participants faced indubitable obstacles. Many local community members questioned them for undertaking a seemingly impossible project. Some told them that young women had no business solving society’s problems. Others told them to give up and go home to focus on their domestic duties. Nevertheless, the girls persevered; "nothing will stop us because we want to help these people in need" said a girl leader.

At the opening ceremony for the new clinic, VGP participants stood alongside clinic managers, government leaders, and the team they assembled to renovate the clinic. The girls showed their entire community that each person involved in this project was equal to the others.