Get Girls Back to School Emergency Appeal

Covid-19 is a crossroads for girls' education: We need your help to stop this crisis becoming a catastrophe for the world's poorest girls.

When a girl’s education is cut short, the impact lasts for generations. COVID-19 has led to school closures across West Africa. When girls are out of school, they are more vulnerable to child marriage, sexual abuse, adolescent pregnancy and violence. When combined with falling family incomes, this means that, without action, too many girls will simply never go back to school after the pandemic.  

This is a critical moment. 

We need your help to get girls back into school as lockdowns lift, and ensure they have the support they need to learn and thrive.  

We know from our experience during the Ebola crisis that there is a huge risk that this pandemic will prematurely cut short education for thousands of children, with adolescent girls at particular risk of having their futures stolen. We cannot sit by and see another lost generation. 

We can be the change.

While the world doesn’t yet know how to cure COVID-19, we do know how to help girls survive and thrive in the face of serious adversity. Supporting exceptionally vulnerable girls with school fees, school uniforms, learning materials, reusable sanitary pads, and combining this with emotional support, can be transformative. 

Our model, working with expert grassroots partners, is able to deliver this powerful, life change intervention for £85 per girl per year.

The World Bank has demonstrated that supporting girls’ education is one of the best investments you can make for breaking the cycle of poverty, as better educated girls are likely to marry later, have fewer and healthier children and be able to earn more (12% more for each additional year of education).

We have all already lost so much to COVID-19. We can’t let it steal girl’s futures. Donate now to ensure girls can remain students and children, not mothers, wives and workers.

We are a Bath-based charity working to end poverty by empowering women and girls in Africa’s poorest communities. We deliver small scale, high impact projects in partnership with local experts. To date, we have supported more than 5000 women and girls to get the opportunities, education and healthcare they deserve.

This CrowdFunder is being co-ordinated by University of Bath students as part of a Social Entrepreneurship Action Project. This programme brings together small charities with local students to deliver a high impact project. The Paul Hodges Trust is delighted to be working in partnership with this young and ambitious team, making a difference for the world's poorest girls.