"Change Something": Girls Education International

luisa i think this is amazing, inspiring and wonderful!

This sounds like an amazing project - rock on sister!

Thanks so much for making an effort to raise money for this project, Luisa! This is great. All of the Girls Education International volunteers are very excited about educating the girls of Khane. We've been working hard since last November to come up with a good plan of attack to get the project done. And we're finally seeing results.

This summer, Fabrizio Zangrelli traveled to Khane to lay the groundwork for the girls' school renovation project using funds from the Zack Martin Breaking Barriers Grant. His trip was incredibly successful. We have near complete support in the village for the project; we have a school committee consisting of the village elders (and Ghulam Abbas, Luisa's respected trekking guide); and we are in the process of finalizing our plans to begin renovating the existing girls' school and the school's water pump, building a home for a new teacher, and hiring a qualified female teacher. We need to raise about $15,000 by March 2008 in order to get the school up and running by fall 2008. We will need to raise additional funds to maintain the teacher's salary indefinitely.

Thanks again! And please check out our blog: www.girlseducationinternational.blogspot.com for weekly updates on our progress. You can donate to GEI by going directly to our site, www.girlsed.org, or by visiting our partner, The Mountain Fund, http://www.mountainfund.org/html_site/members/Womens/girlsed....

Grand idea Luisa.

Um, great idea. But don't you think that the education of girls in Pakistan should be the responsibility of the government of Pakistan? Or at least a cause that needs to be supported by people with links to Pakistan?

I do.

Louisa, I think this is a very worthwhile project and congratulations to you for getting things going.

I understand your point to a degree, but in some instances as this one right now the resources are not being provided. If we were to take this individual approach to every society that was in some kind of poverty or disadvantage then where would the suffering people of places like sudan, iraq, afghanistan etc be. Furthermore, if we applied this notion to everywhere in the world then we would let africa deal with Aids and starvation, let children grow up without love in palces where their families are no longer around.

I am interested in helping this community as I feel that the otherwise these girls may not get an education.

If life was so black and white that the government provided direct funding for this then fantastic, unfortunately in some societies life is not that simple so I hope that this project provides the people within the village with a slice of hope and chance for a future of choice.

downtowner:
seems to me that someone who has travelled there and made lifetime friendships with people there can justifiably say that they have links to that country.

and goodness me. if we left all the important things in our world up to governments, we'd all be pretty hooped in a lot of ways. from where i sit, it seems that non-profits account for most of the critical work i see going on in our world today

Regarding the previous point by downtowner:

Governments don't all have the resources and motivation to provide education in remote areas... Just ask members of small communities in Canada! Helping fund a school in support of local goals is positive, even if it should be the responsibility of the government.

The greater risk lies in creating a rift in the local society by confronting cultural taboos regarding the role of women. However, I believe that the emancipation of women, particularly in Islam, is a corner stone goal in the pursuit of global sustainability, alleviating over-population, and increasing the health of poor communities.

Are we subverting the local cultural values? Are we imposing western beliefs? I haven't visited the village, I don't have a sense of the concensus there, so I don't know the answer. Maybe if they were better educated they could be more active participants in their country's bureaucratic systems and therefore lobby for improved govt support of education in their region? I think it is worth the risk. Charge on Louisa!

Everyone should have access to education. Any pro activity, no matter how localised on the grand scale, is to be admired.
Best of luck Luisa.

This seems like a good idea to me. I believe that one of the most effective things that can be done to help communities in developing countries is to educate girls and young women. (And children generally, of course.) We're lucky enough to be able to visit these places, and it's nice to see someone trying to give something back.

No one, and no charity, can solve all the world's problems, but one must start somewhere. As long as the school is approved by the people of the village it will be in, and they're actively supporting it, that's enough.

Luisa!  Good work!  Coming from a third world country, I can say that assistance from first world countries is extremely helpful!  I hope this works! 

I'm going to respectfully disagree on a few points on this idea, or rather respectfully suggest further reflection:

I don't think providing education is necessarily the sole providence of the government, but I have worked and lived in Africa, and I've heard some pretty heavy criticism of the "sponsor a student" programs run by certain not-for-profits, in Uganda at least. In many cases students get the fees to start or continue school, but the funding evaporates later, leaving the family on the hook for future payments that they can't afford. Many agencies require donors to become lifelong sponsors of the student, and commit to them for the duration of their education. I'm not sure if this is happening or not with this particular not for profit, but it is probably worth looking into.

What developing countries need is long term commitments that help build self sufficiency, so it is really important to make sure that long term commitment is there. Also - I don't think it is safe to say that just because an organization is not-for-profit that it is doing good work. I witnessed a great deal of implicit corruption, wastefulness, and -- in my opinion -- harmful ideology amongst the development agencies when I was in Africa as well. Not-for-profit is just a legal ownership structure, so prudence is to be advised as much with these organizations as with any corporate entity. Think of the Catholic School programs with first nations in Canada. Many of these not-for-profits have strong ideological underpinnings, religious and otherwise.

And I too am a bit fearful of cultural imperialism. Specifically the notion that anyone is free of preconceived notions of gender when entering another culture, especially if it is a brief visit. We are all deeply conditioned in one way or another on the gender issues, and our cultural structures are inevitably deeply bound to these conceptions. Considering yourself to have no boundaries on gender, for example, is itself a strong statement of your own values that could be highly offensive in other cultures, and not something desired by women or men due to the cultural context. We all have a definition of gender roles, and to think that ours is superior, or that we are "the way" is fairly presumptuous, I think. Every culture needs to find its own way, and the best aid programs are the ones that facilitate this.

I like this quote from trans gendered activist Kate Bornstein about how in some cultures gender roles play an important part in keeping a healthy functioning society. She says that in some places "men do men's work and women do women's work, and so it all gets done and the jackals can't get into the hut and eat grandpa."

I probably sound like a contrarian, and I am to some extent, but I think it's important to be pragmatic about development scenarios and not get too attached to the romance of an idea, but do some really hard looking at our own values first, and the values of the agencies on the ground before intervening. There can be so many unintended consequences to our actions in other countries and cultural settings, despite the best of intentions.

I believe in this project. As a member of Luisa's team to Pakistan I can say first hand that Girls Education International is acting as the fire starter in a place where government attention is elsewhere (primarily war).

Through this initiative the local people of Khane are being giving the monetary help they need to make this community girls school a reality. As Lizzy said, a board of villagers has been elected and village support for the project is almost 100%.

Our support is vital during this time of startup and growth. However, should this project be a success, the empowered and educated women of Khane will continue this project long into the future as our involvement fades into the background.

Louisa, this project is SO important. In an ideal world, we could expect each country to take care of its own, but the sad fact is that women and girls are so often last in line for such care. In fact, it is only in very recent history that women have gained equality in our own country. By providing education to girls and women the entire society benefits; women gain skills and self esteem and pride in their achievements - this applies to women everywhere.

In response to JeremyOsborn (esp. the point about cultural imperialism):

I too have concerns about bleeding heart liberals swooping into places quite foreign with an agenda for progress. The definition of progress, to some degree, is going to be culturally specific. We may thus be guilty of exporting our ideology just the same as old W across the 49th.

That said, concerns about cultural imperialism should *inform* the way we go about helping, rather than *stop* us from doing so in the first place. It reminds me of the whole "leave no trace" fallacy. We (humans, liberals) are members of our (global, ecological) environment whether we like it or not. We do have an impact in everything we do. Even in breathing, out comes a greenhouse gas. The question that we ought to consider is not *whether* we will have an impact but *what type* of impact we will have. Do we carefully consider the cultural and political climate of Pakistan before choosing an aid project? Do we seek input and direction from leaders of the Pakisani community with regards to what would constitute progress? It appears that the Girls Ed project has succeeded in terms of both of these.

The alternative is to fret over cultural imperialism and stay home. Meanwhile, the less thoughtful of our society continue to export a different brand of Western ideology on our behalf in the form of war, free trade, and labor exploitation. We live in a multinational world now. The dividing line between East and West has become awfully blurry. The question is no longer whether we will be involved with the East, but what the nature of our interaction will be. It seems to me that the Girls Ed program is showing us how we *ought* get after it.

In response to JeremyOsborn (esp. the point about cultural imperialism):

I too have concerns about bleeding heart liberals swooping into places quite foreign with an agenda for progress. The definition of progress, to some degree, is going to be culturally specific. We may thus be guilty of exporting our ideology just the same as old W across the 49th.

That said, concerns about cultural imperialism should *inform* the way we go about helping, rather than *stop* us from doing so in the first place. It reminds me of the whole "leave no trace" fallacy. We (humans, liberals) are members of our (global, ecological) environment whether we like it or not. We do have an impact in everything we do. Even in breathing, out comes a greenhouse gas. The question that we ought to consider is not *whether* we will have an impact or not but *what type* of impact we will have. Do we carefully consider the cultural and political climate of Pakistan before choosing an aid project? Do we seek input and direction from leaders of the Pakisani community with regards to what would constitute progress? It appears that this project has succeeded in terms of both of these.

The alternative is to fret over cultural imperialism and stay home. Meanwhile, the less thoughtful of our society continue to export a different brand of Western ideology on our behalf in the form of war, free trade, and labor exploitation. We live in a multinational world now. The dividing line between East and West has become awfully blurry. The question is no longer whether we will be involved with the East, but what the nature of our interaction will be. It seems to me that the Girls Ed program is showing us how we *ought* get after it.

All that I'm saying is that sending $1000 dollars to Pakistan to educate 10 girls will not accomplish what you want it to do. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

As someone who worked in the international development industry for many years, I think that one set of lessons that has been learned is that long-term sustainable development needs include a number of dimensions. A development project needs to be: 

1. Sustainable (ie. not dependent on random shots of money from foreign countries)   
2. Indiginous - coming from the people and communities that articulate the need
3. Ongoing. (More than a one off)

The third world is littered with projects, all imposed with the best of intentions from external donors. We don't need to add to the pile.

But like I said, that's just my opinion.

Jeremy (nice name) - I agree with you on all of your points; however, I still have some concerns about the project on the ground, and the organization. I'm reading things in their blog that speak to a fear of the spread of fundamentalist islam, and possibilities that islamic schools are breeding terrorists. This kind of language is reminiscent of fundamental christian conservatism in the states, or at the very least fundamental secularity - no matter how you dice it, they are by their own admission trying to impose western values.

Also, the org is one year old, has no long term plan published, no indication of where the funds will go, and no financial breakdown to show how much overhead they are siphoning to run the operation. And I'm not convinced that just because the village is 100% behind a project that it is the best use of funds. Let the village decide what they want to spend the money on - conditional money will always get support from the village because it is better than no money at all. It can be a subtle form of exploitation when dealing with materially impoverished communities. In this case, the western cultural factor (mentioned above) is very pronounced in this particular posting, and on the organizational website, and makes me think that there is some strange unconscious ideology being projected.

I'm not super keen on the rich western women as role models to the poor either, as I mentioned. I find it condescending. Rich empowered westerners traveling the world for pleasure and testing themselves against nature is not necessarily the message of empowerment i would want to send to people living on less than a dollar a day. Are we saying - "you can have this too - we just need to build you some schools and get you out of that weird fundamentalist tradition."

There is a weird irony in there that ignores a world of cultural complexity, and contextuality that these communities are founded upon. Not to mention the fact that global tourism of this sort is inherently unsustainable in our current environmental dilemma.

All of this is also notwithstanding the popular criticism of sponsor a student programs. It's all great to build a school and put a bunch of kids in it, but if the fundraising abilities of the self proclaimed "fundraising goddess (one of the founders)" evaporate, or she gets too busy with other things, or decides to go hard core into climbing, then the whole thing is, as they say, just faded memories. What has been materially changed in the community that this school can become self sufficient in the near to medium future and not reliant on the donor organization's ongoing contributions?

Lastly is also the fact that the money and local media coverage from this particular competition would go to a foreign project, and would take resources away from the many organizations and individuals with very real needs on our doorstep here in Vancouver.

And I'm open to being proven wrong on all of these points.

So many countries in the world have a vast array of issues and problems, major and minor, but we only hear about the ones our governments want us to hear. Wether this is through the T.V, newspapers, or any other sources.

But there are thousands more problems going on in countries all over the world, and due to their financial status.. (let me re-phrase that)... due to their LACK of financial status, no one hears about them. Girls getting brutally raped daily..... women becoming slaves and prisoners to gangs.... people murderd daily.... and corrupt governments intercepting money donated by the Western World to fund their egotistical lifestyles, with bigger cars, bigger guns and cultivating drugs.

Do the powers that be in the world know about this?... YES!!

Do they do anything about it?.... NO!!

So if a group of individuals like yourselves, off your own back, takes your time and your effort to not only go and visit a country... but to also help and try to make a difference..... well... i think it is just amazing!!!

After taking out 30 minutes of my time, i read all of the comments people have left you and apart from 1 individual who i wont single out and name..... "Downtowner"..... oooops ;-) But all the comments and your blog really inspired me to get up and try and make a change!!

We could say ... "Why should we help?"
... "Leave it for their government sort out"
... "It ain't our problem"
... "We cant help everyone can we?

And the answer is no.... we cannot help everyone. But we are humans, and when there are people in need, it is our instinct to try and help them... even more so when they are countries or societies that do not have the luxuries we have to do such things.

I understand we cannot change the world in a day, but every little helps!!

You should be very proud!!... And I'm sure your actions will inspire many more!!

Hi jeremy, I am guessing that you looked at this website:http://www.girlsed.org/projects.htm
It contains information regarding the $15000 that needs to be raised by March.  If you want to find out more detailed information you should contact Lizzy (she posted earlier).
In response to your point about letting the village decide what is the best use with the money, this was an idea that came from our climbing guide Abbas which Lizzy and GEI are assisting in making a reality.
Many of the people who have vistied the village, such as a team of Americans at the end of august this year did using their own funds at the tail end of their trip in Pakistan. Similarly Lizzy did the same 2 years ago.
I dont see the money as a conditional income, it is money that is being generated in response to a demand by the villagers. I dont really see how it would be possible to generate funds without a prior purpose.
Yes you are correct that the money go to a foreign project but hey Jeremy like i said before if we all just looked after ourselves where would the world be.

I would be interested in hearing if you have any ideas about how you think something like  this might work.

Hi Luisa,

These are my ideas - largely a summary of my points above. These are from the perspective of me as a potential investor (which I am) looking for a thoughtful response to the strong version of my arguments above:

1. It would be nice to see a personal financial guarantee on this project -- from the founders -- for a determined length of time that is approximately the length that they envision this project will take to reach self-sufficiency (aka the community can fund it themselves or doesn't need aid anymore). This would guarantee longevity and commitment financially and emotionally. These are people's lives at stake - I don't think it is unrealistic to expect the donors to put a bit on the line too.

2. It would be great to see a statement of values on the website - admitting to the values perspective of the organization and what effect they see this having on the community. It worries me to hear development workers speaking as though there are no western values at play. The question is not if, the question is how. Those statements on countering Saudi Arabian Islamic schools are awfully generalized, and speak to western ideology quite strongly to me.

3. I'm sure funders would be much happier to see a long term plan including financial statements for current and past years, and projections for future years (ideally a narrative accompanies the plan) - it is pretty common for these types of NGOs to publish some kind of annual report. It helps with fundraising and acts as a touchstone for accountability. Nothing fancy - just a pdf once a year with some narrative and numbers that show you know where you've been and where you're going.

4. And what about the village - we don't know much about the people themselves. Some narrative on the community, their history, and why they have deemed that a non-Saudi Arabian education is important to them. Show your donors why the village wants this - why they view this as a priority over other possible outlets for this funding. Specifically, be explicit about all of the big questions that typically throw shadows over development projects - what makes this different from all the other ones that have failed? How, specifically is this going to improve the life of the entire community? How specifically do you understand the culture and values of the village, and are respecting that knowledge in your participation? Yes, empowering women globally is important. But what does that mean in this very specific, very local context? Be realistic and detailed.

I think all of these things would go a long way to making me feel safer about this type of investment. I think these things would only take a fairly minimal time investment.

I'm happy to take the conversation off-line if you are interested.

Cheers,

Jeremy

Sounds like you are on track to making this happen in a sustainable and realistic fashion - such lively debate will surely fuel the creative fires and move it forward, with all your helpful co-bloggers - wonderful and inspiring - Go for it Luisa and gang!

Hi Luisa,

Read through your article, this is a great project and I'm happy that you are getting involved.

I'm in support of education in general, that is in the traditional western sense:-)

To those that have made comments of cultural imperialism I have this to say. If teaching someone about Louis Pasteur is cultural imperialism then bring it on!

Have fun Luisa,

Vince

I solicited some feedback -- last week -- from my friend Michelle on this topic. She's managed rural development projects all over the world, and I respect her opinion. Here is her response, which I received today - she had positive things to say:

"Building a school for girls is a good idea and it's exciting that they are proactive in helping out. from an international development perspective, first it's all about need. if the village feels that it needs a girls school and if they are willing to send their girls there, it could be great! second, it's about capability. the $15,000 sounds like enough to build the school but does the local village or the national education system have the capability to keep the school running - are there teachers? books and curriculum available? from my limited understanding of pakistan - i think they have educational infrastructure. so if they are building the school to be part of a system that already exists, it should be good.

on a separate note, it is really easy for people to steal money during construction projects so i would recommend that they research and choose a good contractor. some local NGOs could maybe help make some suggestions"

This is my last comment on this post - I promise!

HI there Jeremy,

Thanks so much for your replies and yes I think it would be great to take this conversation offline. It seems like you have alot of important points and ideas and being extremely new to the business I think I could learn alot from you. How do we go about doing that? I cant see an email option yet but I will scan and take a look,

I will forward your comments/ suggestions to GEI (as I am only just getting involved) and see if we can get the ball rolling on some of the things you suggested.

Thanks again

Luisa

Hi Luisa - I'm learning too :)

Maybe Kate can put us in touch. I think she has both of our email addresses. I'll email her and ask. Thanks!

sounds good!

Nice one Luisa hope you win.

Luisa and Jeremy,
If you take your conversation off line, give us a link to follow and comment. You are developing a community of listeners who may grow into participants.

If you have not already done so, I suggest you check out http://www.roomtoread.org/. They are creating schools and libraries in underdeveloped countries and might be a potential partner.

Another potential partner is Grameen Bank.

Luisa, Best of luck with your project. I commend you for engaging with Jeremy rather than discounting is advice an an infringement on your project. He has a lot of wisdom to offer.

Rod

Rod

Thanks alot for the link I hadnt been on there already as I am REALLY new to this. I will forward it onto the folks at GEI. I will keep you in the loop about our discussions which hopefully I will get to reply to this week.

Thanks again

Luisa

Luisa, I am so happy to see yet another traveller who has been affected by the places they've visited and the people they've met. I think your efforts are a great idea and wish you tonnes of luck!