10,000 Girls (WHEPSA)

The 10,000 Girls program provides girls in the villages of Senegal with the tools to succeed. The program has two interdependent components: education and enterpreneurship. Founded in 2001 by an American grandmother, Viola Vaughn, who had relocated to Senegal, the 10,000 Girls program has earned regional--and now, increasingly international--recognition for success.

The education program supports girls at risk of leaving school early by purchasing textbooks and providing tutoring and space in which to study, monitoring school progress and encouraging parents to support their daughters' education.

The enterpreneurship program is for girls who have left school. It provides both vocational training and employment in one of the two 10,000 Girls successful enterprises: the pastry shop and catering business, and the sewing workshop producing handmade dolls, quilts and other artisanal products for export. Moreover, these business ventures produce income both for the participating employees and to support the education program financially.

10,000 Girls is self-supporting through the girls' own work, sustainable as it grows, capable of scaling to the needs of the region supported by the local communities.