Support Girls' Education with Bright Minds Africa

Help us purchase the land to build an All-Girls School in Nigeria.  Each dollar donated will be matched two-to-one by a Bright Minds sponsor. 

It is common for girls in Nigeria to drop out of school after elementary school. Parents who cannot afford school fees arrange for their daughters to be married, cutting the girls' education short and impacting their health and wellbeing for the rest of their lives. Bright Minds Africa is building an All-Girls Boarding School to serve girls who are most at risk of early marriage. Our school will be free of charge and enable girls to continue their education in a nurturing, supportive, and empowering environment.

Our school will address the following barriers to education in Nigeria:

 1.  Migrant Families: Many families are cattle herders and migrate on a yearly basis. While this promotes economic stability, it also requires families to move away from their children’s schools, forcing them to drop out. Having a safe and supportive residential campus will allow girls to focus on their studies without worrying about having to move.

2.  Carrying water: Children, especially girls, are expected to collect and carry water for their families. This can take up to 30 hours a week, leaving little time for academic work or play. Our school will have a borehole well on campus to eliminate time spent collecting water and allow the girls to focus on school.

3.  Functional Illiteracy: The poor quality of education in Nigeria and lack of reading materials make it difficult for children to learn to read, and as many as 50% of students who graduate from secondary school remain functionally illiterate. Our school will have a library on campus along with teacher development programs to promote literacy.

4.  Stigma around HIV: HIV is incredibly stigmatized in the region and many girls who are positive have to rely on their parents to coordinate their treatment. Some parents are unable to travel to get medication because of cost or concern about the stigma. Bright Minds will promote the treatment and de-stigmatization of HIV by building a health clinic on campus that will address HIV and other health concerns.

5.  Lack of reproductive health education: Reproductive health is not taught in schools in Nigeria. This leads to early pregnancy, spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and general lack of autonomy in terms of sexual health. Our school will include this vital health education in our curriculum.

6.  Rigid gender norms: Our school will challenge traditional gender norms by leading by example. We will hire female teachers and administrators who will serve as role models for our students. We will also have soccer fields and handball courts to encourage girls to play sports, as well as a curriculum in leadership development to encourage the growth and empowerment of our students.

Bright Minds Africa has fostered the education of thousands of students in Nigeria and Cameroon by providing scholarships and sponsorships, building libraries in local schools, training girls as librarians, leading teacher education programs, and teaching health and leadership classes. Our All-Girls Boarding School will combine these efforts to create a generation of women ready to lead. We cannot thank you enough for your support in our efforts to increase access to education for the most vulnerable girls in our communities and help them open the door to a brighter future.

All donations will be processed by Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, a registered charity in Oakland, California, so your gift will be tax-deductible.  Learn more about Bright Minds at brightmindsafrica.org.