🌍 Africa Educates Her – 5th Anniversary Special Feature

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Reconnecting With the Girls Left Behind After COVID-19


This year marks five years since the launch of the Africa Educates Her Campaign, spearheaded by AU/CIEFFA in response to the massive disruption of girls’ education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From August-September 2020, committed campaigners like Sofonie Dala in Angola began grassroots efforts to reach out-of-school girls, collecting testimonies and raising awareness about the educational crisis facing young African women.

This is our first Webisode recorded on 29, August 2020

Now in 2025, with the pandemic officially behind us and schools reopened, the campaign is doing something different.

🎯 We are going back to the girls who first shared their stories with us—those who still haven’t returned to school.
🤝 We are listening again. We are asking: Why not? What barriers remain? What must be done—today—to bring them back?


📍 Meet Isabel Manuel: A Face Behind the Statistics

Isabel’s journey is one of resilience, sacrifice, and an unshaken desire for education—despite heartbreaking odds.

  • Dropped out in 2018, after completing Grade 12 in Economic and Legal Sciences.

  • Became the sole breadwinner after losing her mother, caring for siblings and a sick father.

  • Started a small salon business to survive, which was later shut down due to pandemic lockdowns.

  • Missed her chance to save for university as her earnings went to food and care.

  • Lost her father in 2023, becoming a double orphan.

  • Now a single mother, still dreaming of entering university and becoming a lawyer.

“I would appreciate it if someone gave me the opportunity I don’t yet have,” Isabel told us.
“I’ve never given up. I just need a chance.”

Despite immense challenges, Isabel never gave in to early marriage or teen pregnancy during the pandemic—a tragic fate for many others. Yet, even today, poverty and lack of support continue to keep her out of the classroom.



🎁 2025: A Visit, A Gift, A Renewed Hope

This year, the Africa Educates Her team visited Isabel at her church. We brought a small gift to bring a smile to her face—and more importantly, to reignite her hope for education. She shared her ongoing dream of earning a scholarship abroad to pursue her legal studies.

Isabel is just one of millions of girls who are still out of school.
And she is just one opportunity away from changing her life.



💬 What You Can Do

🎓 Sponsor a girl’s education – even one scholarship can change a life.
📢 Share Isabel’s story – amplify her voice and others like hers.
🌐 Watch, learn, and act – visit our series of webisodes here: https://she-leads.blogspot.com
📥 Tell your story – how did COVID-19 impact girls’ education in your community?


✊ Girls’ Education Matters – Still.

More than 54% of the non-schooled population globally are girls.
Millions risk never returning to school, especially those living in poverty or rural areas.

But when girls learn, nations rise.
Educating girls is not only a matter of justice—it’s a strategy for lasting social, economic, and environmental change.

Let’s not stop now. Let’s go further.

💡 Join the Africa Educates Her movement. Be the reason a girl like Isabel gets her second chance.


Gallery 

Isabel in 2020/2021




Isabel in 2025



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