Great Plains are raising money for Plan’s Girls' Fund. All donations received will be allocated to projects which benefit girls in the world’s poorest countries, focusing on improving their access to life skills and education. There are currently three projects being supported by the fund. These will change over time as some reach completion and others come on board – but they will always target vulnerable girls and help them to reach their full potential. Projects being supported now are:

Bursaries and a boarding house in Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone an estimated 431,000 children are out of school, of which the majority are girls. Many have been left orphaned by the war, are left heading up a household and are unable to afford school fees – so their education has simply stopped. This project will support vulnerable girls in the Kailahun district by establishing a boarding home where 30 girls will live in a safe environment and have access to education, and will provide a further 60 girls from very poor female-headed households with scholarships to allow them to continue their education. 

Bursaries and classrooms in Liberia

Children were the worst affected by the conflict in Liberia. They were kidnapped, forced to take up arms, used as sex slaves, and denied their rights. Life has been hard for them, but particularly for girls, who remain at the bottom of the social ladder. This project will repair and refurbish a girls' school in Paynesville, one of the poorest suburbs of Liberia's capital, allowing girls to restart their education. Activities include repairing and rebuilding classrooms, installing a water and sanitation system, and constructing a safe playground. And scholarships will be given to 200 of the girls most in need.

Skills development training for teenage girls in Bangladesh

Insufficient training opportunities and the poor economic situation of parents within the slums of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka mean that many teenage girls are often forced to support themselves by working in unskilled positions such as domestic servants, rubbish collectors or manual labourers to break bricks. They are often exposed to poor and unsafe working conditions. This project will help 240 girls to gain the skills they need to change their lives for the better. By offering training in electronic technology, industrial sewing, embroidery and Jori-Chumki (ornamental dress making), the girls will be given the opportunity to start a career and get jobs with better wages, better prospects and safer working conditions.

Thank you for supporting the Girls Fund with us.