EDUCATE GIRLS & FIGHT AIDS
The statistics are terrifying, not only for those of us that read about them, but also for the young girls in Malawi that live them every day of their lives. They live with the knowledge that 57 percent of the 25 million people living with HIV and AIDS in Africa are women, and that that figure rises to 80 percent among young women between the ages of 15 and 18. And these girls know! Even the young girls in remote villages in Malawi know that they have a very high chance of dying once they have a boyfriend or once they have sex. They know and they are scared. But their fear cannot pay their school fees. Their fear cannot buy their school uniforms. Their fear cannot satisfy their hunger or pay for medicine for their sick parents. To learn more about the horrifying statistics, read the United Nations Fact Sheet on Women and AIDS in Malawi. (Click here).
"The main problems we girls face in Malawi are powerlessness and poverty." Witness Kamanga
This combination of circumstances forces them into sexual activity at an early age; they lack the power to say no or to insist on condoms to protect themselves. Often they are forced to barter sexual favors to survive. The decisions they are forced to make in order to survive in the short term are ironically the equivalent of a death sentence in the longer term.
"It is true that it would be much easier for girls to protect themselves if they just had the opportunity to go to school. If a girl is confident, it's easier for her to say no to sex. She may have the courage to go for HIV testing. She might have the power to insist that her boyfriend go for testing." Sellina Malaga
Educating young women like Witness and Sellina is widely recognized as the most effective weapon to combat poverty and the spread of HIV and AIDS in Africa. When girls are educated, they marry later, have fewer children, and their incomes increase. They have a goal and a plan for their future. They see the worth in protecting themselves. Their lives take on meaning and value and they are less likely to take risks. More importantly they are less likely to need to take risks because they see a future filled with hope and happiness. They know that they are learning how to take care of themselves so that they will not be dependant and therefore at the mercy of their future husbands.
Over the past many years, Memory and I have witnessed this transformation in the 24 young women that were our former students and whom we have been supporting since their school closed in December, 2000. Now, 7 years of education later, they are working in their own communities, breaking down many of the stigmas that surround AIDS by confronting issues such as early marriage and "sugar daddies", and encouraging women's social and economic empowerment. Out of their own income, these young women are helping to pay the tuition for their younger sisters, build homes for their ailing and aging parents, provide money for food during times of famine, and act as role models to show that girls and women are worth educating, are capable of leadership, and are capable of great things. These girls DO NOT HAVE AIDS! Their education has provided the protection they needed to grow into the powerful women they have become.
Girls' education is the answer to confronting HIV and AIDS in Africa head-on. If we are going to beat the spread of AIDS - and we must - we have to educate the young women of Africa.
SPONSOR A GIRL AND FIGHT AIDS!
