Merck Foundation launched 'Educating Linda' in 2019 to help young girls who are unprivileged but brilliant to continue their education. The spirit of the program is to provide an opportunity to such girls to pursue their dreams and reach their potential through access to education. It has been seen that many girls drop out of school due to lack of necessities such as fees and uniform.

Merck Foundation strongly believes that Education is one of the most critical areas of women empowerment. It is also an area that represents some of the distinct examples of discrimination women suffer. As evident in UNICEF’s declaration that in Africa, among children not attending school there are twice as many girls as boys, and among illiterate adults there are twice as many women as men. Girls’ education is not a luxury.

Studies show that, in areas where there is high poverty and decades of conflict, girls face enormous challenges that limit their ability to get the education they deserve.

A few of these challenges include:

• Girls face pressure to fulfill traditional roles as housekeepers and mothers rather than go to school.
• High bride prices are set for girls who are ‘kept safe’ at home.
• Early and forced marriages increases when poor families need the bride price.
• Limited available money for education is typically invested in boys and men.
• Harmful practices, such as Female Genital Mutilation, are still being practiced in many African countries.
• Schools do not provide proper facilities, including sanitation facilities, for girls.
• Girls are at risk of sexual assault on the way to school, or from male peers or teachers
• Continued rape and assault of girls in areas of armed conflict.

When Girls are educated, their countries become more powerful, stronger & prosperous. There is a need for more support as there are many brilliant girls who are struggling financially and socially to meet their educational needs.

Therefore, Merck Foundation started "Educating Linda", a pan-African program that This program is a part of "Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” campaign.
is supporting the education of young girls by providing over 1240 scholarships for high performing and underprivileged African schoolgirls from 19 countries, empowering them to complete their studies and reach their full potential and also providing essential school items for thousands of schoolgirls in many African countries such as Botswana, Burundi, Malawi, The Gambia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Namibia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cabo Verde and more.

This program is a part of "Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” campaign.

Enjoy Reading Storybooks:

EDUCATING LINDA
Read Book English | French | Portuguese

JACKLINE'S RESCUE
Read Book English | French | Portuguese

A RIDE INTO THE FUTURE
Read Book English | French | Portuguese