“We speak to issues in the community, like teen pregnancy, child marriage, violence, and health. We connect stakeholders who are interested in girls’ education. The chief is a key factor in the community, so we get him to understand the details of the barriers girls face.” - Pearl Quarmyne, CAMA leader
Twenty-year-old Pearl is a member of Camfed’s powerful CAMA alumnae network, a university student, an entrepreneur, a mentor to vulnerable school children, and a role model and leader in her community. She works with traditional leaders, school leaders and families to #PressForProgress, addressing poverty and gender inequality, and bringing about lasting change in her community.
In the Q&A, Mrs. Obama asks Pearl about her own background, the barriers to education faced by girls in her community, and why an education is so important to girls in Ghana. Pearl explains how she and her CAMA sisters bring children who have dropped out back into school, deliver life skills training, and support vulnerable children with school items.
Now a college student training to be a teacher, Pearl says, “It is worth going through every bump in order to get to the highest level of who you want to be, because the benefits are great. If you have education, you have it for life, you have a great inheritance.”
Pearl also had some intriguing questions for Mrs. Obama, and her answers, as expected, are hugely inspirational. Read all about it here: “Michelle Obama Talks To A Girl From Ghana About Why Education Is Vital”
This International Women’s Day, find out why it is so important to educate more girls and future women leaders like Pearl: Together we will #PressForProgress.
Read Pearl's full story here.