AGE Scholarsahip Fund helps girls in Malawi

The AGE Scholarship Fund is a program begun by Xanthe Scharff and Ulemu Chiluzi. According to their web site www.ageafrica.org their program "sponsors 17 disadvantaged, orphaned and HIV/AIDS-affected girls in grades 9 12, seven of whom are from the Bowa village, where AGE first started operations.

Ten girls are from the southern region of Malawi, where poverty and famine are most acute. 12 of the girls attend a private boarding school, while the other five are placed at government-select schools based on their academic merit.

AGE pays for all of the scholars' expenses, including boarding fees, so the girls can live at school and optimize their study time. In order to help the scholars succeed, AGE provides mentoring and leadership training and works with communities to build support for girls education.

Each year, AGE sends a team to Malawi to evaluate the implementation of the program. During this time, AGE talks with the scholars and their communities and teachers to learn about the challenges that students face."

I think this program has a lot of merit. Educating girls is a perfect way to enact change. African women are primarily responsible for collecting firewood, water and food as well as raising children and running the home.

Providing them with an education will help them learn sustainable farming techniques, support themselves without having to rely on a husband or relatives, they will learn ways to protect themselves from AIDS and other communicable diseases and they will pass all that they learn on to their children. This will be a catalyst for change in a country that is in dire need of a new path.

Please take a moment to go to www.ageafrica.org
see what their all about and give them your support or join their group on Facebook.