day 22 - camfed case study: "ripple effect"

In this Camfed case study, we see  how educated girls may return to their communities to improve them – whether it may be improvement in education, health, the economy, or gender equality. In this way, an education truly has a “ripple effect”, spreading to generations beyond the individual girl.

When Katumi was still in primary school (in Tamale, Ghana), her parents separated, and her mother, who was uneducated, found herself unable to look after her four daughters on her own.  

Katumi went to live with her aunt but she had to work to support herself. Every day after school she went to the market, where women vendors gave her a portion of their produce to sell. “The money I was earning was never enough,” she says. “I couldn’t afford a school uniform so my friends gave me their old uniforms.”  

In 2010, Katumi was selected for the Camfed program and a full package of support – including fees, uniform, shoes and books. “Camfed’s intervention came at the right time to redeem my aunt and me from the shame we were going through as a result of our inability to re-pay the money we borrowed,” says Katumi. “It also gave me a peaceful mind and I am motivated to study hard.”  

“Another door that opened to me through Camfed’s support is the opportunity is fulfill my dreams of becoming a role model to the girls in my community. These girls do not have any one to look up to and as a result, do not go to school. I will tell my fellow girls that they can make it in life if they believe in themselves.” Katumi plans to be a nurse so she can return to the village where she was born. Currently, there is no clinic, and people must walk several miles to reach a health care facility.   “I want to help my people so they get the medical care they need,” she says.

The education a girl receives stays with her long after she graduates from school. She can start her own business and afford medical care and school tuition for her children. Poverty in developing nations is often a vicious cycle: those that can’t afford health care and an education are unable offer their children a better future, therefore perpetuating this socioeconomic status to the next generation. However, by giving a woman an education, she can break the cycle of poverty, becoming a leader in her community and educating the next generation.

Janna