Nominated by our partner organizations in 2021, our “COVID-19 Community Heroes” are shining examples of the impact girls make when given the chance to lead.

Created for International Women’s Day, this campaign recognizes the powerful role women play as mentors to underserved girls. We pay tribute to those within our network of community-based organizations.

This campaign illustrates the ambitions girls have—and what the world would lose if they didn’t have the chance to finish their education.

In 2019, She’s the First celebrated 10 years of impact by honoring four Girl Champions, whose voices spoke to the truths of millions of girls. All around the world, girls are told they are not enough. They are pulled out of school when they are still children to be wives and mothers. Their voices are silenced. Their safety is at risk. But, with an education, every girl has the chance to become an #ExtraordinaryWoman.

Meet the Girl Champions—Ellie, Cynthia, Mahesh, and Angelica—here.

In March 2019, She’s the First co-created this video with Purposeful and Project PIKIN, two Sierra Leonean organizations. Together, we launched the #ShesAGirlFirst campaign to support the fight of local activists in Sierra Leone, where it was against the law for a pregnant girl to ever return to school. The campaign went viral on social media in Sierra Leone and was picked up by several media outlets.

Nine months later, a landmark decision from the Economic Community of West African States Court of Justice (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria, ruled that Sierra Leone's ban on pregnant girls taking exams and attending school is unlawful. The court ordered the government of Sierra Leone to lift the ban immediately, act to address the increase in teenage pregnancies, and work to fight discrimination against pregnant girls. Read more in The Guardian.

She’s the First was proud to bear witness to this victory—it shows what passionate local activists and a global conversation for girls’ rights can accomplish.


A Decade of Videos

The video player below (and here) features success stories from over the years. These girls represent the thousands whom we serve and the millions we fight for every day.