Malala Fund is an international, non-profit organization that advocates for girls' education. It was co-founded by Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and her father, Ziauddin.[1][2][3] The stated goal of the organization is to ensure 12 years of free, safe and quality education for every girl.[4] As of July 2020, the organization has 48 staff and supports 58 advocates working across Afghanistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.[5][6]

Malala Fund
Formation2013
FoundersMalala Yousafzai
Ziauddin Yousafzai
Type501(c)(3) charitable organization
81-1397590
FocusGirls' education, education rights
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., U.S.
CEO
Lena Alfi
Staff
48
Websitewww.malala.org

History edit

The first contribution to Malala Fund in 2013 came from Angelina Jolie who gave a $200,000 personal donation, which was used to fund girls' education where Malala is from in Pakistan's Swat Valley.[7][8]

In 2014, Malala Fund helped build an all-girls secondary school in rural Kenya[9] and provided school supplies and continued education in Pakistan for children fleeing conflict in North Waziristan and the floods of 2014.[10]

In 2015, when the government of Sierra Leone closed schools due to the Ebola epidemic, Malala Fund bought radios and created classrooms for 1,200 marginalized girls to continue their education.[11][12] Building on Malala's advocacy for girls in Nigeria,[13] Malala Fund pledged full scholarships to Chibok schoolgirls freed from the abduction by Boko Haram to complete their secondary education.[14] On 12 July 2015, her 18th birthday, Malala announced funding through Malala Fund of a secondary school in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, near the Syrian border, for Syrian refugees.[15][16]

In 2016, Malala visited Dadaab Refugee Camp for her birthday and attended the graduation of refugee girls from a mentorship program on leadership and life skills supported by Malala Fund.[17] In December 2016, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed $4 million to help Malala Fund launch the Education Champion Network to support education champions in developing countries.[18][19]

In 2017, Malala Fund significantly expanded investment projects that Newsweek described as, "education advocacy programs run by local people — the kind Yousafzai and her father led when they lived in Pakistan — and will disburse up to $10 million a year over the next decade."[20] New grants included a project in Afghanistan to support the recruitment and training of teachers to fill spots in the country's overcrowded classrooms[21][22] and supporting local activists in Nigeria to campaign for increasing public education from 9 years to 12 years.[23]

In 2018, Apple Inc. partnered with Malala Fund to fund expansion to India and Latin America and provide technology, curriculum assistance and policy research with a goal of educating more than 100,000 girls.[24][25][26][27][28] In addition, a connection will be established in Brazil with the Apple Developer Academy.[29]

Programs edit

Education Champion Network edit

Malala Fund supports local advocates and programs to advance girls' secondary education around the world.[30] The current priority countries for Malala Fund are Afghanistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.[31][32] One of the champions for Pakistan is Gulalai Ismail, chairperson of Aware Girls an organisation with which Yousafzai trained in 2011.[33][34]

Research and advocacy edit

Malala, Ziauddin, Malala Fund staff, members of the Education Champion Network and young education activists participate in conferences and meet with political leaders to advocate for girls' education.[35][36][37][38] The advocacy goals are to increase funding for girls' education[39] and to remove the barriers keeping girls from school, such as early marriage, child labor, conflict and gender discrimination.[40] Malala Fund has conducted research on the impact of girls' secondary education in collaboration with Brookings Institution, World Bank and Results for Development.

In June 2018, Malala Fund helped secure a $2.9 billion commitment for girls' education from G7 countries and the World Bank.[41][42]

Assembly edit

In July 2018, Malala Fund launched Assembly, a digital publication with stories by girls, for girls.[43][44] Malala Fund won the 2020 Webby Award for Email Newsletter in the category Web.[45]

In popular culture edit

The organization was featured in the 2015 American documentary film, He Named Me Malala, and Malala's autobiography, I Am Malala.

References edit

  1. ^ Hauser, Christine (5 April 2013). "Malala Yousafzai Announces Grant for Girls' Education". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. ^ Whitcraft, Teri (4 February 2013). "Malala Yousafzai Is Grateful for Her 'Second Life,' Creates Malala Fund for Girls' Education". ABC News. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  3. ^ Leber, Jessica (1 September 2015). "How Teenage Activist Malala Yousafzai Is Turning Her Fame Into A Movement". Fast Company. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  4. ^ Ong, Thuy (22 January 2018). "Apple partners with Malala Yousafzai's Malala Fund to help advance girls' education". The Verge. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Malala Fund Staff". Malala Fund. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Malala Fund welcomes 22 advocates as Education Champions and expands into Ethiopia". Malala Fund. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  7. ^ Frith, Maxine (5 April 2013). "Angelina Jolie Donates $200,000 To Malala Fund". Huffington Post. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  8. ^ Barker, Faye (5 April 2013). "Malala announces first grant from fund set up in her name". ITV News. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  9. ^ Smith, Hayden (5 July 2014). "Malala takes education bid to Kenya". Times of Malta. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Malala Fund Giving 2014: Who You Helped Support". Malala Fund. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  11. ^ Poon, Linda (18 February 2015). "Now This Is An Example Of Truly Educational Radio". National Public Radio. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  12. ^ "World Radio Day". Malala Fund. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  13. ^ Umar, Haruna (19 July 2017). "Malala speaks out against Boko Haram in Nigeria". USA Today. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  14. ^ Levs, Josh (13 April 2015). "Malala's letter to Nigeria's abducted schoolgirls: 'solidarity, love, and hope'". CNN. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  15. ^ Westall, Sylvia (13 July 2015). "Nobel winner Malala opens school for Syrian refugees". Reuters. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  16. ^ Mendoza, Jessica (13 July 2015). "Malala Yousafzai's birthday request: investment in 'books, not bullets'". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  17. ^ Opile, Caroline (12 July 2016). "Malala Celebrates her 19th Birthday with Refugees in Dadaab". UNHCR. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  18. ^ "The Malala Fund – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation". Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. December 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  19. ^ "Malala Fund Partners". Malala Fund. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  20. ^ Gidda, Mirren (1 October 2017). "Malala Yousafzai's New Mission: Can She Still Inspire as an Adult?". Newsweek. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  21. ^ Hicks, Bill (14 June 2017). "Tough school? War, illiteracy and hope in Afghanistan". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  22. ^ Yousafzai, Ziauddin (9 October 2017). "Teachers are nation-builders. Developing countries must invest in them properly". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  23. ^ "INTERVIEW: In fighting for girls' education, UN advocate Malala Yousafzai finds her purpose". UN News. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  24. ^ Reilly, Katie (22 January 2018). "Apple Is Partnering With Malala's Non-Profit to Educate More Than 100,000 Girls". Time Magazine. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  25. ^ Gallucci, Nicole (22 January 2018). "Apple becomes Malala Fund's first Laureate partner". Mashable. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  26. ^ Carbone, Christopher (23 January 2018). "Apple teams up with Malala Fund to educate more than 100,000 girls worldwide". Fox News. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  27. ^ "Apple teams with Malala Fund to support girls' education". Apple Inc. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  28. ^ Dickey, Megan Rose (22 January 2018). "Apple partners with Malala Fund to help girls receive quality education". TechCrunch. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  29. ^ Dickey, Megan Rose (22 July 2018). "Apple and Malala Fund take new step into Latin America to give girls a full education". Independent. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  30. ^ Van Oot, Torey (9 May 2017). "What Happens When The World's Most Famous Teen Activist Grows Up?". Refinery29. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  31. ^ "Education Champion Network | Malala Fund". www.malala.org. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  32. ^ Carolina Moreno, Ana (16 July 2018). "A estratégia de Malala para colocar 130 milhões de meninas na escola". O Globo. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  33. ^ Plackis-Cheng, Paksy. "Aware Girls". Impactmania. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  34. ^ Briggs, Billy (13 October 2015). "The Peshawar women fighting the Taliban: 'We cannot trust anyone'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  35. ^ "Malala Fund Advocacy". Malala Fund. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  36. ^ Heil, Emily (23 June 2015). "Malala Yousafzai visits Capitol Hill to advocate for girls' education". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  37. ^ "15 women speak up on the power of education". Global Partnership for Education. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  38. ^ Rolenc, Sharon (3 October 2016). "From Yemen to the United Nations: St. Kate's student advocates for women's education". St. Catherine University News. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  39. ^ Royle, Taylor; Johnston, Barry (21 June 2017). "G20 Will Never Get Women to Work Without Investing in Girls' Education". News Deeply. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  40. ^ Watson, Emma (8 March 2018). "Emma Watson and Malala Yousafzai: two activists on how empowering women begins with education". Vogue Australia. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  41. ^ "$3 billion pledged for girls education at G7, delighting Malala". The Economic Times. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  42. ^ Mohamed, Farah (6 June 2018). "MALALA FUND ADVOCACY: The key to unlocking girls' potential". The Global Governance Project. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  43. ^ "Assembly Issue Archive". Malala Fund. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  44. ^ Seshadri, Aditi (6 July 2018). "Malala Yousafzai's global non-profit launches a new digital publication". Vogue India. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  45. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (20 May 2020). "Here are all the winners of the 2020 Webby Awards". The Verge. Retrieved 22 May 2020.

External links edit