SURVIVORGRLZ FOUNDATION
 Attention college students!
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About SurvivorGrlz
Maternal and child mortality are both greatly influenced by a few key indicators of a woman's level of empowerment, including education and the woman's status in her household. The existing system can only look to schools to fill this gap, and yet schools require such a loss in terms of money and time that many families in the most impoverished regions cannot support their daughters' education. Middle ground is needed.
Survivor Grlz is a club that meets once or twice a week, loosely modeled after the Girl Scouts and Grameen Bank women's groups. In various locations around the planet, chapters of SurvivorGrlz clubs are typically started by visiting students on gap year or conducting their masters project from a university. Before arriving, the students research the key determinants of health for that location. Each club has a specific set of rules to guide it based on what women and girls there need to do to survive. In Uganda, the code may say, "Survivor Grlz never wait to eat last. SurvivorGrlz learn to read. Survivor Grlz don't marry before 20," whereas in Harlem, NY the code may read, "SurvivorGrlz get As on their report cards. SurvivorGrlz never eat junk food. SurvivorGrlz never have unprotected sex." The goal is to create social support and build a few key skills needed to increase life expectancy for girls worldwide. After the student leaves, the club continues to meet. The end result is a global network that connects a generation of women working on their own survival. |
A woman living in extreme poverty is unlikely to ever have traveled further than a kilometer from the place she was born. In some places, her isolation increases her bride price as it also decreases her empowerment. SurvivorGrlz is one small, powerful step that works to undo the structural causes of maternal and infant mortality by bridging that isolated girl to a new community with just a few hours of her time every week.
While enrollment in school is the ultimate goal for a girl in development to achieve, the aspects of her education that contribute to survival are smaller and include more immediate rewards than the standard eighth grade education entails. Through SurvivorGrlz, a young woman can learn about finances, literacy, markets, and gender equity without the traditional barriers to education, such as school fees, uniforms, and the labor hours lost when she is away from home. She has social support.
While enrollment in school is the ultimate goal for a girl in development to achieve, the aspects of her education that contribute to survival are smaller and include more immediate rewards than the standard eighth grade education entails. Through SurvivorGrlz, a young woman can learn about finances, literacy, markets, and gender equity without the traditional barriers to education, such as school fees, uniforms, and the labor hours lost when she is away from home. She has social support.
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THE DOMESTIC AGENDA
Locations: New York, NY | Colorado | Hawaii | Uganda
THE DOMESTIC AGENDA
Locations: New York, NY | Colorado | Hawaii | Uganda