Let's Improve Girls' Education in Africa

In addition to Uganda’s own population, the country currently hosts 1.4 million refugees, 61% of whom are under the age of 18.  These children risk being idle and feeling that there is no hope for their futures. MindLeaps works in Uganda to motivate and educate these youth, providing a sense of community and opening doors to new opportunities. Children enter the program through our dance classes and move on to be integrated into formal schooling.

In Uganda, MindLeaps currently sponsors a total of 191 students in our programs in the capital city, Kampala, and in the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement. Over half of these are girls, with 46 girls sponsored in Kampala, and 64 in Oruchinga. Sponsorship covers expenses including school fees, books and school supplies, uniforms and meals.

We would like you to meet one of our girls in school, Phelista, who will tell you her own story:

My name is Phelista and I am 17 years old, now studying in Grade 7. I live with my parents and siblings in the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement, where we have been rebuilding our lives after fleeing conflict in our home country. At a very young age, I had to work just to help my family find food. School was never a priority, not because I didn’t want to learn, but because our basic needs always came first. I often missed school for days to try to earn money for school fees or to buy food. Back then, my biggest dream was simply to have one meal a day.

I was introduced to MindLeaps in 2019 through community mobilization in the settlement. I still remember my first day - I felt happy and excited because they were teaching us things I had never learned before. It felt like a new world opening up for me!

What made me want to keep coming back was the dancing and the chance to meet new people. Of all the activities, stretching is my favorite. It makes me feel light, like I’m letting go of the worries I carry inside. Since joining MindLeaps, so much has changed in my life. I’m not afraid of missing school because of fees or hunger. I’m more confident and try my best in every subject. MindLeaps has helped me believe in myself again.

Now I dream of becoming a singer or a doctor - two paths that would let me express myself and help others. Education is important to me because I want to learn about the world and understand different people and ideas. If I had to describe what MindLeaps means to me in one word, I would say “help” - because that’s exactly what it has been to me.

In Mauritania, young women and girls can face particular challenges. Child marriage is one, with 2018 statistics from UNICEF indicating that 37% of the country’s girls are married before age 18, and 18% before age 15. Access to formal education can also be limited, and the rate of illiteracy is high among women, with a reported literacy rate of only 42%. MindLeaps is working in Mauritania to help girls develop the critical skills they need to succeed and make positive choices in their lives.

In Mauritania, the path to school through MindLeaps begins with our Catch-up Program for school-age girls who have had little or no formal education. This program includes our dance classes structured to develop cognitive skills and social-emotional learning, as well as catch-up classes in Arabic, French and Math. After completing the program, the girls are assisted with enrollment in the formal school system, where we sponsor them. MindLeaps is currently sponsoring the education of 88 girls in primary and secondary schools. For these students, MindLeaps covers costs that could otherwise be a barrier to entering school – books, school supplies, and clothing for sports activities. We further support our girls in school with tutoring in preparation for primary and secondary school exams.

Our education initiatives also go beyond the girls we are supporting academically. For older girls, generally aged 16-25, we offer a three-part program of Dance and IT/Digital Literacy Training, both through MindLeaps, and Vocational Training in conjunction with our local partner, SOS Pairs Educateurs. We currently have a cohort of 60 girls enrolled in the program. In the Vocational Training component, girls and young women are acquiring professional skills in hairdressing, make-up, and tailoring. After completing their training program, they will be placed in internships in their field, in convenient locations near their homes.

Through education and training, MindLeaps is helping girls and young women in Mauritania to develop vital skills and build a foundation for self-reliance, both for themselves and their families.