Founded in 2019, Afro Ark is a nonprofit organization based in Rwanda that supports adolescent girls and young mothers from marginalized communities. The organization’s work focuses on improving school attendance and retention, addressing the range of factors that prevent girls from completing school and realizing their full potential. In the past three years, Afro Ark has supported more than 1,800 first-time, teenage mothers in Nyagatare, Rwanda.
Although Rwanda has made significant progress in promoting girls’ access to education and enrollment rates, many challenges still remain, particularly in rural areas of the country where retention and daily attendance are ongoing issues. Problems such as economic insecurity, unpaid domestic work, early pregnancies, and gender-based violence are persistent barriers and often prevent girls from pursuing higher education. Afro Ark seeks to disrupt these trends through mentorship, scholarships, and life skills training.
With support from the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund, Afro Ark will implement a scholarship and mentorship program to empower adolescent girls in rural Rwanda. The organization will identify 10 schools to implement its program, which will include lessons on topics such as sexual and reproductive health; science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM); leadership; and gender equity. Afro Ark will develop digital literacy programs and provide scholarships for girls to cover school fees, educational materials, and menstrual health products.
In total, Afro Ark expects to reach 650 adolescent girls through this project. The goals are to increase girls’ knowledge of their rights as well as increase their interest in careers where women are underrepresented. In doing so, the organization seeks to show girls new possibilities which will inspire them to set ambitious goals and dream of a brighter future.
To learn more about Afro Ark, please visit the organization’s website and social media pages:
See more projects: Education, Leadership & Life Skills Development, STEM