Too many women are denied an education

For families like Julia’s in the Central African Republic, life is a daily struggle for survival.

Here, three in four women can’t read or write. They’re denied an education. Denied jobs. Denied the one thing every mother wants most of all: the chance to create a better future for her children.

Poverty robs children of their future

Every mother wants to create a good life for her children. But what if you had to choose between feeding your child or sending them to school?

This is the painful reality for too many women around the world. Like Julia, a 23-year-old mother in the Central African Republic. She had to drop out of school when she had her son, Joseph. Now, he’s at risk of being denied an education, too.

‘My main concern is how I’m going to send him to school and if I’ll afford the school fees,’ she says. ‘I have someone else who depends on me, yet I don’t have the capacity to take care of him.’

The gift of literacy lasts lifetimes

Everything changed for Julia when she attended a literacy programme set up through Tearfund.

‘When I learned about the literacy centre, I was very happy that I could learn alongside other girls and women,’ says Julia. ‘As women, without education, it’s very hard to achieve as much as we need to.’

Through her classes, Julia has learnt to make clothes and is selling them to make a small income. Now, she dreams of a brighter future. ‘I would like to learn tailoring, get a sewing machine and open my own workshop. That’s how I want to move forward with my life.’

With your support, more women around the world can learn to read and write through Tearfund’s programmes, and create a better future for their children.

Will you help to give the gift of literacy that lasts lifetimes?

Your gift could change lives forever

Valerie, 45, is a mother and grandmother in Julia’s community who also attended the literacy classes. When she was widowed suddenly, what worried her most was being unable to meet her children’s needs. ‘How will I pay for their school fees?,’ she asked.

But through the literacy classes, she learnt to read and write, as well as practical skills to help her earn a living.

‘Being part of this group allows me to work together with my fellow women,’ says Valerie. ‘My family will do well thanks to the advice, training and skills I've gained.’

When women are able to learn to read and write, their children are more likely to get an education too. You can help give the gift of education to mothers like Valerie and Julia, so they can create a better future for their children, and their children’s children.