The PC Michelle Sylvester Scholarship program is
intended to help middle school girls across Senegal pay for their school
inscription fees and school-related costs. Actually, though, it’s far more
consequential than it sounds. Consider the following statistics:
Girls with
8 years of education are 4 times less likely to be married as children.
Mensch, Barbara S., Susheela Singh and John B. Casterline. 2005.
“Trends in the Timing of First Marriage among Men and Women in the Developing
World,” in Cynthia B. Lloyd, Jere R. Behrman, Nelly P. Stromquist, and Barney
Cohen (eds.), The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing Countries:
Selected Studies (pp. 118–171). Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
A child
born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of 5.
UNESCO. 2011. Education Counts: Toward the Millennium
Development Goals. France.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001902/190214e.pdf
Educated
mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school.
UNICEF. Millennium Development Goals.
http://www.unicef.org/mdg/index_genderequality.htm
A girl with
an extra year of education can earn 20% more as an adult.
Jad
Chaaban and Wendy Cunningham. Measuring the Economic Gain of Investing in
Girls: The Girl Effect Dividend. The World Bank. August 2011, 8.
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/08/08/000158349_20110808092702/Rendered/PDF/WPS5753.pdf
Peace Corps hopes that helping girls pay for
school-related fees will enable them to stay in school for at least another
year. The above statistics suggest that this will have a long-term impact not
only on the girls’ overall health and socio-economic status, but also on their
children’s health and socio-economic status in the future.
The Michelle Sylvester Scholarship is also a great
way for volunteers to get to know bright young women in their communities, and
to familiarize themselves with the Senegalese school system. Throughout the
year, volunteers continue to work with the girls in many different ways. Here
are some examples, borrowed from the SeneGAD Activities Manuel:
·
Health and
Fitness: moringa beignets; nutrition discussions; malaria skits; making neem
lotion; dance; yoga; kickboxing; hula hooping; sports; dental hygiene;
HIV/AIDS; Q&A sessions with local health workers; reproductive health;
condoms;
·
Environmental
Awareness: trash relays; micro gardening and container planting; tree nurseries
and pepinieres; eco-tourism; nature walks; animal husbandry; recycling; crafts
from recycled goods (such as reusable bags from fabric scraps); pollution;
scavenger hunts
·
Business:
personal finance; savings and loans; marketing and product development; the
Best Game; marketing games
·
Careers: career
panels; career interest surveys; talking about educational pathways;
·
Arts and
Culture: crafts; friendship bracelets; Culture Fairs; jewelry-making;
dream-catchers; educational posters; talent shows; theatre
·
Leadership and
Communication: talks by Awa or LCFs; viewings of Elle Travail, Elle Vit;
facilitating discussions between parents and children, especially about plans
and goals; icebreakers and games; breakout groups; Life Skills sessions; gender
activities and discussions
·
Goal Setting and
Planning for the Future: writing letters to future selves; motivational
speakers
·
Personal
Identity: self-portraits and collages; journaling
·
English and
Languages: local language literacy; conversational practice; skits; debates;
films; song lyric translation
·
Math and
Science: puzzles; invention competitions;
·
Service and
Volunteerism: mural painting; post-camp project development; working with
talibe or younger children; taking turns at daily camp chores
You get the idea—the possibilities are basically
endless. So it’s not just about financial aid—there’s a very important “human”
component as well.
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