Camfed and its alumnae leaders in the CAMA network democratize data through social and technological innovation, galvanizing community action that delivers with urgency, breaking down the barriers to girls’ education - the key driver of all Sustainable Development Goals.
At Tuesday’s opening plenary ‘Girls’ and Women’s Lens on the SDGs’, gender equity advocate Melinda Gates committed $80 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to be spent on gathering, improving the accuracy of, and evaluating the data critical to closing the gender gap, strengthening decision-making and accountability of policymakers and organisations dedicated to keeping gender equality at the core of international development.
“We can’t close the gender gap without closing the data gap” - Melinda Gates
Camfed patron Julia Gillard joined the call for more rigorous data collection on what works to support marginalized girls around the globe to access quality education - and the personal, family, community and national transformation that ensues.
Who owns and acts on data?
Data and technology are central to accountability, transparency, scale and sustainability of Camfed’s girls’ education programs. For Camfed, the question of ‘who’ collects, owns and acts on data is critical. Its unique approach was recognized with the FinancialForce 360 Excellence Award this week. Theresia Moyo, Head of Education at Camfed Tanzania, who was invited to speak about ‘Innovative Means to Collect and Use Data’ at the Women Deliver conference in Copenhagen, explains, “What is so different about Camfed’s approach is that our community partners collect, own and act on the data. We put technology in the hands of the young educated women in our CAMA alumnae network, and of trained Teacher Mentors, who work with school committees, parents and district officials in the poorest parts of rural Africa, collecting data on girls’ situation, school entitlements, performance, retention, and progression, as well as the ‘give-back’ by alumnae and their community members, who are working to support many more marginalized students to go to school.”
The girls and women behind the data
Theresia’s presentation focuses on CAMA alumnae Learner Guides, who are trained in delivering context-sensitive life and learning skills at their rural schools, sharing data, acting on data, as well as galvanizing schools and communities to do the same.
Teaching a bespoke life skills curriculum, Learner Guides help students to build self-knowledge, discover their talents, build resilience, set goals and learn how to achieve them. They introduce students to new learning techniques, and support them to form groups and make time to study. They use their intimate knowledge and personal experience to support girls at threat of early marriage to return to school, and work with school committees to improve school grounds, provide school meals, and improve the quality of the curriculum.
Read the full story here: www.camfed.org/latest-news/young-women-deliver-data-accountability
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