Links Africa

Links Africa supports girls and women to access quality education and training in order to bridge the widening gender and knowledge gaps in the world. Our mission is based on the growing importance of education and innovation for competitiveness in the global economy

Links Africa supports expansion of opportunities for girls and women to access quality education and training through four main programs: Scholarships, Excellence Award, Advocacy, and Capacity Building for Leadership.

The scholarship program targets the increasing population of poor girls who are talented but are forced to drop out of school because they cannot afford the rising cost of education. We work in close collaboration with the participating schools and the local leadership to select the neediest students.

The Excellence Award is a merit based award that is offered to the best performing students. The award acts as an incentive to encourage continued hard work and academic excellence. At the end of each school year, the award recipients are selected by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the school administration.

Links Africa strongly advocates for policies that promote gender equality and empowerment of women. For example, we strongly advocate for more investment in girls' education through engaging and creating awareness of the benefits for sending girls to school among women, local leadership and nongovernmental organization at the grassroots level. Links Africa creates awareness against outdated and outrageous traditions that perpetuates discrimination and violence against women such as genital mutilation (FGM), early marriages, boy-child preference, and lack of health-care for women. We work closely with the government to abolish and criminalize cruel and unnecessary practices. Links Africa believes that timely information potentially safe the lives of innocent girls and empower them to become productive citizens. Currently, such girls are victims of unfounded myths and a gender discriminative culture - advocating for favorable policies could enhance their opportunity to stand up for their Human Rights!

In a world where inequality and poverty continue to increase, capacity building for leadership is critical. A key challenge is how to foster good governance and create requisite for economic, social, and political growth. In this regard, Links Africa develops tools to equip and empower women for leadership in recognition of the instrumental role they play in the community. Links Africa creates awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and trains women to take responsibility for their own progress by developing capacity and policies that address gender equality and poverty alleviation. We also seek innovative ways to effectively harness and leverage the untapped "women power" to develop and implement leadership capacity. We encourage women to pursue further studies, contest for elected positions, and actively participate in the public policy process.