MORE ABOUT the GCEF
Sending girls to school - Securing healthy futures
The Girl Child Education Fund (GCEF), a signature initiative of Florence Nightingale
International Foundation (FNIF), supports the primary and secondary schooling of
girls under the age of 18 in developing countries, whose nurse parent or parents
have died. Sadly, this number continues to rise. Your donation to the Girl Child
Education Fund will go towards school fees, uniforms, shoes and books and ensure
the primary and secondary education of girls who would otherwise not be able to
go to school.
Through the GCEF the orphaned daughters of nurses in developing countries are getting
back to school. We work in partnership with The International Council of Nurses’
member National Nurses Associations, to ensure that the money goes directly to education
costs. Every girl in our program is paired with a nurse volunteer to monitor her
progress at school and at home.
What do the GCEF girls have to say?
This program is my mother and my father, it means everything to me. (Joy 9, Kenya)
The future is promising because the GCEF came into existence and my dreams will
be accomplished. (Jennifer 14, Swaziland)
What I love about this programme is that we as girls would continue our education
and not drop out of school. I would like to see the programme help other girls like
me who will need help. And I wanted to say thanks for everything you people have
done for me and what you people are doing to encourage girl child education. (Mathilda
11, Uganda)
This programme is the reason I am in school and why I am where I am because, trust
me, when I lost my father in my primary everything seemed to have come to an end.
If I am to tell anyone about this I would say this is the reason I am in school.
It is the reason why I am where I am today via my academics and my school and my
future at large. (Catherine 15, Zambia)
What the guardians and teachers have to say
It has relieved me from the burden of thinking of what the future holds for her
and how I was going to be able to scout for funds to cater for her financially.
Now that she has been in the programme for two years I can see a bright future for
the child as she will manage to finish school/education. There are changes since
she has joined the programme: her performance at school is promising, and she is
a happy girl as she knows that the programme is meeting her needs.