Youth Activism Project

The Youth Activism Project's flagship initiative is called School Girls Unite which concluded after 15 years. This youth-driven initiative, founded in 2004, had 13 chapters in Washington, D.C. area middle and high schools, collaborating with another group of high school and university students in Mali called Les Filles Unies pour l'Education. Together these African and American activists advocated for gender equity and universal education. They raised donations and provided scholarships to 40 girls living in extreme poverty in Mali to attend school in their villages . Les Filles Unies made regular trips to the schools to hold meetings with the village elders, teachers, parents and the younger students. This firsthand knowledge and youth-led evaluation increased their credibility when these young people—who are not yet old enough to vote—meet with government officials such as the Ministry of Education in Mali and Members of Congress. Ongoing participation with the Global Campaign for Education has seen an increase in the US government's assistance for basic education for children in developing countries from $400 million in 2005 to $740 million in 2008.