Another New Chapter for Girls’ Education and Leadership with the Girls Opportunity Alliance!
- creativeactionins
- 33 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Creative Action Institute is proud to share that we have been selected for the second time to receive support from the Girls Opportunity Alliance (GOA), an initiative of the Obama Foundation that supports adolescent girls’ education and empowerment around the world. On International Day of the Girl, the GOA pledged $2.5million for grassroots groups who advance adolescent girls’ education around the globe. Creative Action Institute’s Sauti ya Dada (“The Girls’ Voice” in Kiswahili) program is among those receiving funding.
Through this partnership, Sauti ya Dada will continue to gain new visibility and support as part of the GOA Fund, which helps drive awareness and contributions to community-led initiatives transforming girls’ lives. We are honored to be part of a global network of changemakers advancing opportunities for girls to learn, lead, and thrive.
We encourage our community to follow the broader campaign through:
Investing in the Next Generation of African Leaders
Since 2020, Sauti ya Dada has worked with 1,290 girls across Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya, who face the greatest barriers to education, from early marriage to climate change. Through a three-part model of clubs led by Creative Action Institute (trained mentors, peer exchange, and girl-led advocacy), the program equips adolescent girls with the tools to stay in school, strengthens their knowledge, confidence and leadership skills, and creates lasting change in their communities.
The results are inspiring: since 2020, Sauti ya Dada participants have stayed enrolled in school at a 99% rate, compared to national dropout averages as high as 88% in Tanzania and 75% in Uganda. Within a year, nine out of ten girls identified as leaders, and nearly all reported improved confidence and public speaking skills. Beyond education, girls are connecting their learning to the world around them, linking gender equity to climate justice. 90% of Sauti ya Dada graduates can describe how climate change affects their lives, and most have led creative campaigns to raise community awareness, from murals and performances to environmental clubs and school gardens.
Building Momentum
This year, Sauti ya Dada reached 510 girls through mentorship clubs and deepened collaboration with local mentors from 16 community-based partner organizations. The Sauti ya Dada community continues to grow. Each girl, mentor, and partner organization contributes to a movement for education, equality and climate justice. With the Girls Opportunity Alliance and our steadfast partners, we are amplifying girls’ voices and supporting a new generation of leaders who are advocating for a more just and sustainable future.
Our Partnership with GOA
Beyond funding, GOA has been a partner to Creative Action Institute, amplifying our work, connecting us with others who are also in the girls’ education ecosystem, and investing in our team. Last Earth Day, for example, GOA and Mrs. Obama highlighted Sauti ya Dada and the connection between girls’ education and climate change.
This year, our program officer for East Africa, Wanjiru, was invited to Mauritius to join an inspiring circle of changemakers for the Girls Opportunity Alliance’s first-ever in-person convening. Over two days, leaders from across the GOA network, each working to advance girls’ education and empowerment in their own communities, came together to learn, reflect, and grow.
For Wanjiru, the gathering was both energizing and deeply affirming. Through sessions on gender-based violence, girls and climate change, and values-based leadership, participants shared lessons on what they had learned and continued to strengthen their collective vision for a more equitable world for girls and young women.
We are delighted to part of this Global Community For Girls! Please sign up for our newsletter and join our community!