Challenge:
- High female dropout rate; low female literacy rate
- High teen pregnancy rate; the community typically encourages early childbearing and home-keeping
- No female teachers at school; female teachers avoid rural schools
- Female students need mentors to discuss female-specific issues
- Government support is not adequate to employ and pay enough teachers
Solution:
- Employ female teachers who will room/board at school
- Offer higher salary to give women incentives to leave a city job
- Rehabilitate female staff quarters to attractive housing
- Develop female-teacher run guidance counseling program (sex education, post-graduate and vocational planning, etc.)
- Rehabilitate campus building for private counseling office
Impact:
- Girls attend and remain in school, increase literacy, college attendance and graduation
- Promote gender equality.
- Decrease in early marriage, childbearing and child/maternal mortality
- Increased self confidence, educational and career achievement and leadership among female students
- Provide postgraduates who return to teach at BHS!
Cost/ Goal:
- $25,000 (four teachers; $1250 each/yr for five years)
