As President Obama said, if a country is educating its girls, if women have equal rights, that country is going to move forward. That’s why the United States is launching Let Girls Learn, a new effort to raise awareness about the importance of allowing all girls to pursue a quality education. Because an educated girl is a force for change.
We are in rural Zambia, and it took about two minutes to realize that I was in the presence of a good teacher. Since 2010 when USAID committed to getting 100 million more children reading and learning — 1 million in Zambia — we’ve helped that country boost teaching skills in the rural schools serving thousands of kids that live too far from public institutions.
The United States is making an investment in Malawi — almost $100 million dollars over five years. But how is this going to change day-to-day life for a girl like Martha? The answer: “If Martha learns to read, she will be a more informed adult. If she can’t read, she’ll stick to the old ways of doing things.”
