2008 Kravis Prize Winner FAWE’s work to educate girls in Kenya might have the added benefit of saving lives, according to a new article from the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

FAWE’s Kenya chapter sponsors over 100 girls and 250 teachers in Kenya’s Western and Nyanza provinces, where women have a high risk of exposure to reproductive and sexual health problems, including complications during pregnancy and childbirth, exposure to HIV/AIDS, forced marriages, and female genital mutilation. The particularly high risk among rural women can be attributed in large part to the lack of awareness and education on health issues in rural Kenya.

That’s where FAWE’s work comes in. The organization will teach girls about “adolescent sexual and reproductive health rights” in an effort to change the harsh realities for women in rural Kenya. This agenda fits well into FAWE’s overall mission of empowering girls and women in Africa through gender-responsive education, which it has pursued for more than two decades.

FAWE CEO Oley Dibba-Wadda will talk more about the organization’s extensive education programs in sub-Saharan Africa at the Kravis Prize “Global Leaders Forum” this Thursday at Claremont McKenna College. She will be joined by Pratham co-founder Madhav Chavan and Escuela Nueva founder Vicky Colbert to discuss issues of education in India, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa.

KRAVIS PRIZE CEREMONY AND RELATED EVENTS:

This week: Kravis Prize presents the “Global Leaders Forum” event

This week: This year’s Kravis Prize winner Johann Olav Koss presents a CMC lunchtime lecture

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