RWANDA - GIRLS INITIATIVE
Educate a Girl. Inspire a Community. Transform a Country.
Nicholas Kristof meets Rwanda Girls Initiative Co-Founders
Posted in: Events — Tuesday, December 08, 2009
On Dec 7th, Nicholas Kristof spoke about the central moral challenge of our time, gender equality, to 1000 people at the Overlake School. At a Global Service Fair prior to his speech, Kristof met RGI founders Shal Foster and Soozi McGill, who spoke to many of those in attendance about the power of educating girls and their vision for the Gashora Girls Academy.
Kristof made a strong case for the “virtuous spiral of educating girls” – citing the significant and long-lasting payoff as educated girls invest in their families, communities, and the education of their own children. “If you want to address global poverty, the most cost effective way of doing that is to invest in girls’ education and bring women into the workforce.”
Rwanda Girls Initiative co-founders Shal and Soozi decided to build a secondary school for girls in Rwanda after months of research and listening to the needs of the local community. During this time, they came upon many of the compelling facts also cited by Kristof, which convinced them of the need to focus on girls with the school in Gashora. Shal and Soozi are thrilled that Kristof’s book and speaking engagements are spreading awareness about the value of educating girls, and hope that the Seattle community will be inspired by Kristof’s message and call to action.
On Dec 7th, Nicholas Kristof spoke about the central moral challenge of our time, gender equality, to 1000 people at the Overlake School. At a Global Service Fair prior to his speech, Kristof met RGI founders Shal Foster and Soozi McGill, who spoke to many of those in attendance about the power of educating girls and their vision for the Gashora Girls Academy.Kristof made a strong case for the “virtuous spiral of educating girls” – citing the significant and long-lasting payoff as educated girls invest in their families, communities, and the education of their own children. “If you want to address global poverty, the most cost effective way of doing that is to invest in girls’ education and bring women into the workforce.”
Rwanda Girls Initiative co-founders Shal and Soozi decided to build a secondary school for girls in Rwanda after months of research and listening to the needs of the local community. During this time, they came upon many of the compelling facts also cited by Kristof, which convinced them of the need to focus on girls with the school in Gashora. Shal and Soozi are thrilled that Kristof’s book and speaking engagements are spreading awareness about the value of educating girls, and hope that the Seattle community will be inspired by Kristof’s message and call to action.
Earlier that day, Soozi also participated in a panel at the Global Washington conference. Nicholas Kristof was also a keynote speaker at that event, addressing issues and questions relevant to the international non-profit community in Seattle.
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