Education can change everything

In sub-Saharan Africa, 24 million girls can't afford to go to school. A girl may marry as young as 13 and has a one in 22 chance of dying in childbirth. One in six of her children will die before the age of five. Research shows if you educate a girl she’ll:

Earn up to 25 percent more and reinvest 90 percent in her family.
Be three times less likely to become HIV-positive.
Have fewer, healthier children who are 40 percent more likely to live past the age of five.

Since 1993, Camfed has fought poverty and AIDS by educating girls and empowering young women. More than 1,451,600 children in impoverished areas of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi have benefited from our innovative education programs.
"Investing in girls and women is likely to prevent inter-generational cycles of poverty and yield high economic and societal returns. "—Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General
Our Approach

We believe every child has the right to an education. Camfed uses a community-based, holistic approach to bring about change in Africa. The girls we support are selected by the community as being the most in need. We don’t just provide her with books or school fees. We help her throughout her development, from her elementary school years until adulthood. Our package allows her to get into school, do well academically, and maximize the value of her education after graduation.

Camfed - the Campaign for Female Education - is an international non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating poverty in Africa through the education of girls and the empowerment of young women. Camfed programs operate in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi.

Camfed was founded by Ann Cotton, after being inspired by her travels to Zimbabwe in 1992. In 1993, Ann started Camfed (then ‘Cambridge Female Education Trust’) by fund-raising at her kitchen table and the first 32 girls were supported into school in two of the most impoverished districts of Zimbabwe.

Anticipating the need for post-school economic opportunities in the students' communities, the Camfed Association (Cama) was established in 1998 to connect young female school leavers and offer post-secondary school training opportunities in owning and managing money. Cama provides a structure through which its members can develop their activism and leadershipe. Today, Cama has a membership of 15,437 with structures that extend from village to district, national and pan-African levels.

Organization

• Camfed International, the headquarters, a registered charity in the UK, established in 1993
• Camfed Zimbabwe, established in 1993
• Camfed USA, established in 2001
• Camfed Zambia, established in 2002
• Camfed Ghana, established in 2002
• Camfed Tanzania, established in 2007


onors & Partners

We could not help girls and young women in Africa without the help of so many donors, partners and organisations of all kinds.

The Camfed Circle has been established to recognise the generosity of individuals, corporations, trusts and foundations, statutory and non-governmental bodies who have supported Camfed’s programme at the highest level.

The Camfed Fellowship has been established in recognition of those donors who have provided significant support that helps bring excellence to the Camfed programme.

We work with many partners including governments, international agencies, non-governmental organisations and community-based programmes. They help us bring about change in rural Africa.
The Camfed Circle

The Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust

The Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust

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Big Lottery

Big Lottery Fund

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Comic Relief

Comic Relief

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Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse

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DfID

The Department for International Development (DFID)

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Edelman

Edelman

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ELMA

The ELMA Foundation

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European Commission

European Commission

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Financial Education Fund

Financial Education Fund

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Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Initiative

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Google

Google

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Irish Aid

Irish Aid

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Impetus

Impetus

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Linklaters LLP

Linklaters LLP

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Merrill Lynch

Merrill Lynch

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The Neuberger Berman Foundation

The Neuberger Berman Foundation

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Nike Foundation

Nike Foundation

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Roger Federer Foundation

Roger Federer Foundation

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Sigrid Rausing Trust

Sigrid Rausing Trust

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The Relief Trust

The Relief Trust

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Skoll Foundation

Skoll Foundation

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Social Investors Partners

Social Investors Partners

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Sofronie Foundation

Sofronie Foundation

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United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

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Waterloo Foundation

Waterloo Foundation

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UNGEI

United Nations Girls' Education Initiative

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The Camfed Fellowship

Accenture Employee Charity Fund
Adsum Foundation
AM Johns Charitable Trust
American Jewish World Service
Andre Bernheim Charitable Trust
Atlantic Philanthropies
The Baring Foundation
Barrow Cadbury Trust
The Body Shop Foundation
British Airways Community Investment
The Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust
Cambridge Assessment
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Capital International Limited
Carson McDowell Solicitors
The Cattanach Charitable Trust
Charities Advisory Trust
The Charles Henry Foyle Trust
Charles P. Russell Fund of the Columbia Foundation
Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation
The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
Children’s Promise
Clothworkers’ Foundation
Commonwealth Secretariat
Conservation, Food & Health Foundation
Co-op Group Pension Fund
The Cotton Trust
Criterion Capital
David and Elaine Potter Foundation
SNR Denton
Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund
Elm Capital Associates Ltd
Elton John AIDS Foundation
EMpower
Exotix Limited
The Financial Times
Friedland Foundation
Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)
The Funding Network
Furtherance Fund
George Hodson Charitable Trust
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Members of Girlguiding UK
Global Fund for Children



Global Fund for Women
Global Girlfriend and Greatergood.org
Greenwich World Hunger Association
Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission (GOAC)
Sir Halley Stewart Trust
The Helen & Alex Schlaffer Foundation
The Hilden Charitable Fund
The Hunter Foundation
Icebreaker Management Limited
Institute of Our Lady of Mercy
J.A. Clark Charitable Trust
Jesus College, Cambridge, Southern African Fund for Education
JG Joffe Charitable Trust
John Ellerman Foundation
Jonathan C.S. Cox Family Foundation
The Lewis T Preston Education Program for Girls
Man Group plc Charitable Trust
Marple Charitable Trust
The McKnight Foundation
Meditor Capital Management Limited
Mercy Corps
Oakdale Trust
OC&C Strategy Consultants
Orbis Investment Advisory Limited
Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Trust
Phillip and Rebecca Hochman Foundation
Repton School
Salesforce.com Foundation
The Sanne Philanthropic Foundation
Schroder Foundation
Scurrah Wainwright Charity
St John’s College, Cambridge, Southern African Fund for Education
Staples Trust
The Sylvia Adams Charitable Trust
think-cell
Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Southern African Fund for Education
The Trull Foundation
Trust for Education
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
The University of Cambridge Active Community Fund
The Walker Trust
The Waterloo Foundation
William A. Cadbury Charitable Trust
World Children’s Relief
Yahoo! Employee Foundation


Our Team

The Camfed team is diverse, composed of staff, advisers and volunteers based in the US, UK and Africa. We believe strongly in empowering Africans to be leaders of change: 62 percent of our staff is African. The talented group includes former Camfed beneficiaries as well as experienced education professionals. Here are members of the executive team.
Ann Cotton
Ann Cotton

Executive Director, Camfed International

Young people and education have been the focus of Ann Cotton's life. In her early career, she established and led an education center for girls excluded from mainstream education in London. While at Boston University in the US, she studied the multi-cultural education system of Massachusetts before returning to the UK to study Human Rights and Education at the London Institute of Education. Following research into the constraints on girls' education in Zimbabwe, Ann founded Camfed in 1993. In 2000, Ann went on to study at the UK School for Social Entrepreneurs. She has an MA in Human Rights and Education, is an honorary Master of the Open University, and is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Cambridge University. In 2004 Ann was named UK Social Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2005 was awarded both the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and a UK Beacon Fellowship. In 2006, she became a Schwab Social Entrepreneur and Ann received an OBE in honor of her services to girls' education in Africa. In 2007 she was awarded an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Cambridge.
Lucy Lake
Lucy Lake

Deputy Executive Director, Camfed International

Lucy Lake joined Camfed in 1994 having previously worked as a secondary school teacher in rural Zimbabwe. Since that time, Lucy has coordinated the development of Camfed's program to become a model of investment in girls' education in which the beneficiaries young educated women take the reins of the program, join forces with local and national authorities, and lead change for the younger generation of girls. During 2006-08, Lucy represented Camfed as Cochair of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative. In 2002, she was nominated as Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the New Statesman. In 2003 she featured in the Guardian's "50 Women to Watch". In 2007, Lucy was nominated as one of 35 top young business women in the UK by Management Today and named in the top 100 "rising stars" by The Observer newspaper.
Luxon Shumba
Luxon Shumba

Director of Finance, Camfed International

Luxon Shumba joined Camfed International in March 2005. He has 10 years of experience working in international charities, including several years as Finance Manager with Consumers International (a UK-based international charity) and four years with the International Red Cross. Luxon was born and grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe, and obtained his first degree from the University of Zimbabwe, an MBA from the University of the Free State in South Africa and an MSc in Finance from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. Luxon is a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Luxon has built a comprehensive finance system at Camfed that places the entitlement of the child at its center.
Barbara Chilangwa
Barbara Chilangwa

Executive Director, Camfed Zambia

Barbara Chilangwa is a graduate of the University of Zambia and a former secondary school teacher who rose through the ranks to the top Civil Service position of Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education. As a renowned educationalist and girls' education activist, she spearheaded the establishment of Zambia's Girls' Education Program during her tenure of office. Mrs. Chilangwa invited Camfed to introduce its program to Zambia and served as Patron before taking up the position of Executive Director. She brings with her a wealth of experience on education reforms and girls' and women's issues and has led a multi-sectoral, national approach to child protection.