The Education Initiative
Education for girls is the only effective way to end female genital mutilation (FGM) in the long term
In 2016, Waris Dirie and the Desert Flower Foundation decided to make education in Africa the focus of their work. There are neither reading books nor writing materials in public primary schools. As a result, many children are unable to read or write even after eight years of regular school attendance.
- 750 million people worldwide are illiterate. The majority of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. According to UNESCO, 38 per cent of the African population can neither read nor write, two thirds of whom are women.
- All UNESCO statistics show that Africa is the only continent where illiteracy is still on the rise.
- Instead of the planned reduction of 50 per cent, the illiteracy rate in Africa has risen by 30 per cent. UNESCO cites the population explosion in Africa as the main reason for this.
- UNESCO and WHO statistics show that the countries with the highest illiteracy rates in Africa are also those with the highest poverty and birth rates as well as the highest prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM).
The reason why the Desert Flower Foundation and Waris Dirie have written a reading book for African schools. My Africa - The Journey is distributed free of charge to African schools together with school materials in a Desert Flower educational box.
My Africa - The Journey tells the story of the little desert flower Waris and her brother Mo. The two set off on a journey together to discover their home continent of Africa. On their adventures, they get to know Africa's unique flora and fauna.
In addition to the stories, the reading book contains numerous writing exercises to support pupils' reading and writing skills.
Reading and exercise book, pencils, wooden ruler, sharpener and school bag are in a Desert Flower educational box.
Pupils in Africa use the Desert Flower reading book My Africa - The Journey.
Our Desert Flower schools
The goals of the Desert Flower education initiative:
- Reducing the illiteracy rate
- Barrier-free access to reading books
- Awakening the joy of reading and learning
- Strengthening young people, especially girls, in their self-confidence through school education
- Education, emancipation, self-determination and independence for girls and women
- Targeted educational work in schools about the consequences of FGM
My Africa - The Journey is suitable for teaching in the following fields:
- Wordbuilding
- Support for teachers in lesson preparation
- For English, general studies, art, social studies
- Targeted support for creativity and imagination
- Support for English language learning, especially in communities growing up mainly with local African languages