On September 21, 2024, in New York City, more than 50 young women from around the world—including the youngest Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai and representatives from four She’s the First programs!—gathered to take United Nations member states to task for failing to prioritize girls and young women in the planning and content of the Summit of the Future.
We, the undersigned girl-centered organizations, express our deep concern and condemnation regarding the alarming rise in femicides in Kenya. We stand in solidarity with our fellow women leaders in Kenya who are demanding that the President of Kenya declare femicide and violence against women and girls a national disaster. The government must take swift and decisive measures to protect lives and ensure justice for the victims.
The Swahili word “Msichana” translates to “girl.” Our new partner Msichana Empowerment Kuria (MEK) is a women-led and girl-centric nonprofit organization that stands firmly behind the concept its name represents.
Recently, members of our programs team traveled to Migori County, Kenya, to learn more about this grassroots organization through talks with their program staff and the girls they serve.
A girl with an education is unstoppable—but barriers like gender discrimination, poverty, and exploitation prevent many girls from reaching graduation.
Our Youth Ambassadors created the Power of Poetry campaign to amplify girls' voices about this issue for National Poetry Month and the Global Week of Action for Education. Girls aged 11 to 22 from Afghanistan, India, Guatemala, Kenya, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, South Sudan, the U.K., and the U.S. submitted their work.
We’re proud to announce the 15 women-led organizations taking part in our Partner Coalition for the next three years! Through the She's the First Partner Coalition, we provide transformational funding and support to community-based organizations (we call them CBOs) serving girls in the Global South.
Our active cohort consists of 15 CBOs in 10 countries, engaging 9,475 girls across East and West Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Together, we increase girls' agency and leadership through feminist mentorship programs.
“This week, I had the honor of representing She's the First at the White House for Women's History Month! The President, First Lady, Vice President, and the Second Gentleman gave speeches that underscored the importance of investing in the economic freedom of women and defended girls' and women's rights, especially over their bodies.”
At She’s the First, we believe in taking a girl-centered and anti-oppressive approach to all we do. Girls know their needs better than anyone, which is why we ethically include girls in our decision-making processes and in our program evaluation. To ensure that girls have a vote and a voice at the highest level within our organization, we reserve two seats on our Board of Directors for girls. Two girls are elected by their peers in the Girls Advisory Council to fill these roles.
Today is International Day of the Girl, a day recognized by the United Nations for the world to center girls' voices and needs. Right now, there's no need greater than ensuring that girls can make safe, informed choices about their relationships and bodies. Girls have a right to education about their health and bodies. Take action with She's the First today.
Our team has been hard at work creating a bold vision for the future of She's the First. We are thrilled to share the culmination of that effort: The Power Plan! This three-year strategic plan lays out our programmatic goals and the steps we'll take to get there.
The "sponsorship" fundraising model is popular in the nonprofit sector because it works. People like to give when they can see the girl they're impacting—so many nonprofits feel stuck using it.
We took the risk and moved away from it for the four big reasons. Read why from our co-founders in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
