SCHOOL UNIFORMS
Charlotte read in The Wall Street Journal that the best way to keep teenage girls from being forced into prostitution was to keep them in school. Many girls cannot afford the required uniform to go to public school, so they go to the streets to make a living. They have a strong likelihood of getting AIDS. It’s amazing to think that $15 DOLLARS FOR A UNIFORM AND A FEW SUPPLIES might be able to help prevent this tragedy.
Checks written to No Poor Among Us are tax deductible.
CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN IN MOZAMBIQUE
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1.Fewer than 35% of females are literate.
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2.Only 35% of females and 50% of males attend secondary school - 8-10 grade. (Very few students go on to 11-12 grades.)
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3.Schools are crowded with up to 85 students per classroom. (Schools hold 3 sessions.)
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4.Equipment and supplies are very limited - students frequently sit on the floor. Students must buy their own books, pay for their own required uniforms, and get themselves to school - often a 1 hour walk. (School buses would be a dramatic help.)
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5.Cultural prejudice (tribal culture) hurts women. Importance is placed on education for boys rather than girls. Girls are frequently kept at home to farm, baby sit, carry water, chop wood, and care for the family. (If a husband dies, all belongings go to his brothers, not his wife.)
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6.Portuguese is the official school language, but only around 9% of the population learns this language at home.
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7.21% of girls in Mozambique are married by age 15. Fathers are often interested in bringing in the dowry their girls bring to the marriage.
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8.Women have a lot of children - 38 per 1,000 compared to the world figure of 25 per 1,000.
Students before and after receiving uniforms
