Dear Friends,​

Thank you for your support of GirlsGain. The young Ethiopian ladies leading the program have passion, focus and understand the local culture which is invaluable. They are most grateful for your support.

We are in our eighth year of empowering young girls in rural Ethiopia. We have worked in 48 communities and are entering into 38 new communities. These young leaders continue to work with traditional tribal, religious and community leaders. As we move forward, the young leaders have a program to monitor activities in the first 48 communities to confirm that success continues. 

GirlsGain has added a Peace Building component which is being received very well.

We are pleased that thousands of young girls and boys, with their parents' blessings have a greater opportunity to learn and grow into responsible young adults through our school programs and that thousands of young women are gaining the knowledge and confidence to create better lives for themselves and their children.

Success comes in many small steps. Here is the story of a member of one of the micro-finance groups. Medina is 18 years old, mother of two, and an Ethiopian entrepreneur with a dream. She started selling a few onions and tomatoes. After learning about the value of saving, she took out a $17 loan from a cooperative savings and loan group in her village and bought various grains to plant. She repaid the loan within two months and borrowed enough to buy livestock. If her business continues to grow, she hopes to make enough to send her children to school. 

Young African women like Medina with small plots of land but big ambitions are playing a major role in the continent’s economic development. As these young ladies learn new skills, they also gain respect in their families and communities while building a strong environment where all prosper.

As these programs grow the attitudes change in these villages. Respect for the role of girls and women has grown as fathers, husbands and brothers better understand and respect the role girls can play in a successful society.  

When Bishop Abraham asked me to start this program, I had already retired from the corporate world. My personal experience and my wife’s passion for helping people, inspired me to try and help young girls and women gain the confidence and knowledge to reach their potential. My Mother lost my Dad before I knew him, and she only had six years of schooling. This difficult situation and lack of education limited her opportunities. 

Traditional practices influence people in many ways. Women’s daily lives are long and arduous, carrying water long distances, caring for children, and working in the fields. Although it is illegal, an estimated 3 million African girls a year are at risk for female genital mutilation. Many girls receive very limited or no formal education.  Other harmful practices, many of which are illegal, hold back girls from gaining the confidence they need to thrive.

At GirlsGain, we facilitate programs and discussions so girls can complete their education. They learn academic and vocational, hygiene and sanitation skills, and their legal rights. Older teenagers also learn skills that help them earn, spend, and save wisely through community saving and loan groups like the one that helped Medina.

I am blessed to be the volunteer program facilitator for GirlsGain. The program has helped over 20,000 girls and thousands of family members, classmates, neighbors and community leaders. With God’s Blessings, the addition of new communities as more girls turn 12 each year, the programs have the opportunity to double its reach over the next 3 years. When we give girls the knowledge and confidence to reach their potential, we make the world healthier, more stable, and safe.

We pray that our efforts will help GIRLS GAIN THE CONFIDENCE AND RESPECT they deserve.

Art Wigchers, 2023