“We Will Rise” Documentary Spotlights Importance of Girls’ Education

First Lady Michelle Obama’s mission is to help educate girls around the world, and is the expressed theme of CNN’s new original film:  “We Will Rise.”

This documentary is a follow up to CNN Films’ 2013 “Girl Rising” which presented girls’ stories from around the world and explained how the power of education can change the world.  Education ends generational cycles of poverty and disease and provides a foundation for sustainable development. A quality basic education equips girls with the knowledge and skills to adopt healthy lifestyles, protect themselves from HIV and take an active role in social, economic and political decision-making as they transition to adolescence and adulthood. Educated women are more likely to have smaller and healthier families, to be informed about appropriate child-rearing practices and to ensure that their children start school on time and ready to learn.

We Will Rise – The Goal of Girls in our Partner Communities

Global Volunteers is deeply committed to improving girls’ education worldwide.  Our volunteers enhance girls’ opportunities to go to school, encourage and sustain their desire to attend, positively influence the classroom experience, and enrich their educational goals.  For example, 60 Masai girls attend secondary school in Pommern, Tanzania as a result of our cooperation with the ELCT, which manages the school. The girls stay in dormitories constructed by volunteers and local people, and they learn from both their local teachers and short-term volunteers – most of whom are American women who offer aspirational role models for these girls. This accomplishment is nearly unprecedented in Tanzania, given the repression of girls and strict roles in this tribal society.

In addition to Tanzania, our volunteers in Peru, St. Lucia, Greece, Vietnam, Ecuador, the Cook Islands, Poland, Portugal and Nepal, encourage, support, mentor, guide and lift up girls of all ages to improve and preserve their self-esteem and commitment to learning.  This is where you make THE difference.  Through English conversation, math, reading and science tutoring, health, hygiene and nutrition education, and instructions on disease prevention, you help raise girls’ capabilities, strength and dignity.

Watch “We Will Rise” to learn about the inequities in education worldwide.  Then, join us to make a personal investment in local leader’s commitment to help girls thrive worldwide.

Learn more about our short-term volunteer opportunities, or contact a volunteer coordinator to visit about how you can make a difference through donation or service.