Welcome to The Leap! Your monthly round-up of incredible stories of progress from around the world, made possible by you:
- Head girl Adel and her Kan-do attitude
- Five years on: catch up with rappers Hiba* and Rama* in Jordan
- Viyan's* hopes for the future.
A Kan-do attitude
When Adel had to drop out of school because her family couldn’t afford the fees, she didn’t give up. She stayed at home doing exercises set by her dad, hoping she’d one day get back in the classroom.
Enter Axes-Filles, our girls' education programme. Acces et Égalité pour l’Éducation des Filles is a UK Aid funded programme led and implemented by Save the Children, alongside local and international partners.
Because of this programme, Adel's hopes soon became a reality. Now head girl with an amazing gang of friends, Adel’s got a strong message for other girls like her.
As well as being able to focus again on her favourite subjects of maths and French, a whole new world has opened up, through her friends. Adel now has a sense of identity, of confidence and of belonging. The group refer to her as 'le chef' - the chief.
“There's Marie, she likes to laugh. Agnes really likes to eat. And then there’s Regine, Regine doesn’t know what she wants. And Gloire just likes everything. The one who’s most competitive with me is Marlene.” says Adel. Photo: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham / Save the Children
The girls’ favourite teacher, Mr Kandu (pictured here) was trained by Save the Children.
Through the programme, we built the classroom where Adel and her friends now learn and helped Adel re-enroll free of charge. We also introduced sexual and reproductive health clubs, provided school kits, and menstrual hygiene kits.
We've helped tens of thousands more girls like Adel in The Democratic Republic of Congo. Now, with confidence and a Kan-do attitude beyond her 13 years, Adel is on her way to achieving her dreams of becoming a nurse.
"I've truly been called to teach. It's a beautiful profession.....I don’t make any distinction between boys and girls. I teach them all the same." Photo: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham / Save the Children
How else your support is helping
Photo credit: Emily Garthwaite
From rapping about girls’ rights to helping friends avoid early marriage, Hiba* and Rama* were always a powerful pair.
These talented Syrian sisters are using rap music to change attitudes in the refugee camp in Jordan where they live. They even helped stop a girl from their school getting married and got their own parents’ support to turn down marriage proposals.
Now so close that friends struggle to tell them apart, we went back to see the girls five years after they joined the Save the Children Coaching for Life programme aiming to empower girls in the refugee camp where they live.
Keep scrolling to see October's stunning Photo of the Month and meet 15-year-old Viyan* and her family.
Photo credit: Emily Garthwaite
Viyan* 15, wearing traditional Yazidi dress with her father Daryan* inside their tent in Iraq, 10 years after her family were forced to flee the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Supported by Save the Children’s Family Safe programme - which helps protect children from harmful punishment at home - Viyan has become a passionate advocate for child rights. She’s spoken at several conferences, campaigning on behalf of Yazidi children.
Despite everything she’s faced, Viyan has big dreams of becoming a doctor.
Not in the news
10 years ago, less than 50% of countries had as many girls going to primary school as they did boys. We’ve come a long way since.
By 2024, more than 67% of countries had achieved gender parity in primary school enrollment.
Source: https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/data-stories/a-tale-of-old-and-new-gender-gaps
*Names changed to keep children and their families safe.
