Daring Girls

Daring Girls partners locally to ensure that girls have the knowledge, tools, mentorship and support to confidently design their own futures. In partnership with our sister organization, GLAMI (Girls Livelihood and Mentorship Initiative), we support mentorship opportunities that help secondary school girls complete their education, develop into confident leaders, and transform their own lives and their communities, in Tanzania – and beyond. In 2023, Daring Girls and GLAMI expanded our work into Kenya, partnering with CWE-TECH, the Centre for Women Empowerment in Technology. We support GLAMI's work to implement two UNESCO Award Winning core mentoring programs. The four-year Binti Shupavu program for girls in lower secondary school (ages 13-18) teaches study skills, personal leadership, health, and self-confidence with the goal of increasing graduation rates among vulnerable girls. The two-year Kisa Project is a leadership course that prepares young women in their last two years of secondary school (ages 17-21) to attend university and create positive social change in their communities. By the end of this program, every participant designs and implements a team capstone project, a two-day service activity that demonstrates to the community – and reinforces to Scholars – the worth of an empowered young woman. These mentoring initiatives are remarkably effective. In 2022, 100% of graduating Kisa Scholars passed the final exam required to advance to tertiary education in Tanzania. 96% of graduating Binti Shupavu Scholars in 2022 passed the final exam that will allow them to advance their education, surpassing the national average pass rate in Tanzania by 8%. Mentoring and life skills development programs have been shown to improve adolescent skills, emotional well-being, and behavior, especially for girls. Nothing is more powerful than an educated, confident girl who dares to pursue her dreams and ignite change in her family, community, and her society.