Coming Together to Help African Girls Create a Brighter Future

Photo: © Vincent Tremeau/The World Bank By Unknown Author Alice Adja dropped out of school when she was 8 years old. Her parents could not afford to pay for her education and take care of her and her six siblings. At age 11, they sent her to live with an aunt in...

Photo: © Vincent Tremeau/The World Bank

By Unknown Author

Alice Adja dropped out of school when she was 8 years old. Her parents could not afford to pay for her education and take care of her and her six siblings. At age 11, they sent her to live with an aunt in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where she had a string of odd jobs. Alice is now 21 and works as a housemaid for an Abidjan family. But she has other ideas for her future. She wants to run her own business. Be her own boss. “One day, I will be a professional pastry chef,” said Alice. “I will have my own pastry store.”

For many girls coming of age in poor areas of Africa’s Sahel region, there is little time to indulge in thoughts about who they could become or what they’d like to do. Their aspirations, hopes, and dreams are more often than not swept away as they move from helping out with chores in their household to running their own. They often have to drop out of school, marry soon after reaching puberty, and become young mothers — a vicious cycle that diminishes their economic potential and impacts their health.
Reference: 

​https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2019/09/18/coming-together-to-help-african-girls-create-a-brighter-future

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