Educating Young Girls in Cameroon

Context

In Cameroon, girls continue to face significant barriers to education, safety and long-term economic independence. An estimated 70% of girls are illiterate, 8 out of 10 do not complete secondary school and 24% become teenage mothers. These challenges are especially severe in the Northwest region, one of Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, where a prolonged conflict known as the Anglophone Crisis has disrupted daily life for years. The crisis grew out of political and social tensions between English-speaking communities and the largely French-speaking central state, and has led to insecurity, displacement, attacks on schools, school boycotts and the closure of many classrooms.

When girls are out of school or learning in unstable conditions, they face increased risks of violence, exploitation, early pregnancy and permanent educational exclusion. Many also lack safe support systems, positive role models, school materials, financial assistance and accurate reproductive health information. Teenage mothers face additional stigma and economic hardship, often with few opportunities to return to education or gain practical income-generating skills.

By combining mentorship, reproductive health education, academic support, vocational training, microgrants and community engagement, the project will aim to help girls stay safe, remain in school, make informed decisions and build more viable, sustainable futures.

Goals

Implement a comprehensive Girls’ Empowerment Program that combines mentorship, reproductive health education and targeted academic and economic support systems to ensure girls stay in school, make informed decisions, and build sustainable futures.

Activities

The project will deliver an integrated model focused on three core pillars:

1. Mentorship & Safe Support Systems: Establish peer mentorship networks in schools and communities, training young female leaders to provide guidance, academic support, and personal development coaching to girls.
2. Reproductive Health Education: Scale a peer-led reproductive health program that equips girls with accurate, age-appropriate information on sexual and reproductive health, empowering them to make informed decisions and reduce early pregnancies.
3. Education & Economic Pathways: Provide scholarships, learning materials, and targeted support for at-risk girls, alongside vocational training and microgrant opportunities for teenage mothers to ensure long-term financial independence.

The program will also incorporate community engagement initiatives to shift cultural perceptions, engage parents, and create enabling environments that support girls’ education and wellbeing.

Key Performance Indicators to be Reached (KPIs)

• Train and support 500+ peer mentors, reaching at least 2,000 girls annually with guidance and life skills support.
• Deliver reproductive health education to 3,000+ girls, contributing to measurable reductions in teenage pregnancy rates in target communities.
• Support up to 1,000 vulnerable girls to remain enrolled in school, with improved attendance, progression, and academic engagement.
• Support 150 teenage mothers with vocational training and provide mentorship and assistance as they start their businesses, enabling sustainable income generation and financial independence.
• Strengthen protective environments to ensure girls feel safer, supported, and more confident accessing education and program services.
• Establish a functional MEAL system that generates reliable data, demonstrates program outcomes, and informs continuous improvement.

Myriad Canada is working with Educate Young Girls on this project, a nonprofit whose mission is to to increase access to quality education for girls in Cameroon.

Myriad Canada’s role is to carry out charitable activities across the globe in accordance with its charitable purposes. We control and monitor the use of funds and the progress of charitable activities to ensure that donations made to Myriad Canada have the greatest impact. As a member of the Myriad Alliance with offices in Canada, the US, Europe, Asia and Australia, Myriad Canada has a vast international network and extensive practical expertise.

How to support this project?

By credit card: At the top right of this page, indicate the amount you wish to donate, and make the donation online by credit card. You will receive a receipt for tax purposes by e-mail just a few minutes after making the donation. It is simple and quick!

By cheque:

• Make your cheque out to Myriad Canada.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: We receive a lot of cheques! You must please indicate “Project C338  – Educate Girls Cameroon” in the memo line of your cheque to ensure that it is allocated correctly.
• Mail your cheque to: Myriad Canada, 1 Place Ville Marie, Suite 1670, Montreal, QC, H3B 2B6, Canada.

By Direct Deposit:

• For transfer instructions, please email or call Caroline Chaulet: caroline@myriadcanada.org or +1 438 300 8122.

For Donation of Securities:

• Please email or call Caroline Chaulet: caroline@myriadcanada.org or +1 438 300 8122.

For Monthly Donations:

• We use CanadaHelps. Please find the link here.

If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

All donations are eligible for a tax receipt in Canada.

The projects are managed with the greatest care and professionalism.