Campaign for Female Education

CAMFED’s Impact and Activities in 2005:

* 246,525 children benefited from CAMFED’s programme of educational support
* 13,368 community activists worked with CAMFED to solve poverty-related problems that prevent girls from attending school
* 5,366 young women received business training, and 885 women have gone on to set up their own businesses
* 216 young women

he Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) is dedicated to fighting poverty and AIDS in rural communities in Africa by educating girls. CAMFED began in 1993 by supporting 32 girls in rural Zimbabwe. In 2005, more than 246,520 children benefited from CAMFED’s programme of educational support in some of the poorest regions of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana and Tanzania.

CAMFED has helped to transform the lives of young women like Lucia, who was able to finish secondary school with CAMFED’s support. Today, Lucia is a member of the CAMFED Association (CAMA), a growing network of 4,700 young women supported through their education by CAMFED who are contributing to the social and economic regeneration of their rural communities.

These young women – among them doctors, lawyers, teachers and businesswomen – are now sharing the benefits of their education with their communities. Alongside a vast network of volunteers in the communities where they work, CAMA members supported more than 16,000 children to go to school through their own philanthropic initiatives.

CAMFED was named International Aid & Development Charity of the Year in 2003 and currently co-chairs the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI). In 2005, CAMFED was awarded a prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship by eBay founder Jeff Skoll and Executive Director Ann Cotton was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list for her services to girls’ education in rural Africa. CAMFED patrons include internationally-acclaimed actor Morgan Freeman and renowned author Doris Lessing.  In 2006 the Financial Times chose CAMFED for its seasonal appeal because of proven impact and transparent systems on the ground.