Why I Advocate for Girl-Child Education in My Community

By Peggy Baela, Girl Rising Student Ambassador

My name is Peggy Baela. I am 18 years old, and I completed my secondary school education in 2025 at Nsobe Secondary School. In 2023, while I was still a learner, I joined a global leadership program called Rise for the World. This initiative targets young people aged 15–17 who are leading community-based projects aimed at creating positive social change. Participants were required to identify real challenges in their communities and actively work toward sustainable solutions. 

Project Focus: Girl-Child Education 

My project focused on the importance of girl-child education in my community. I partnered with Pendeni Community School, a school with a large enrollment but facing serious challenges such as inadequate classroom space, limited learning materials, and a shortage of teachers. 

Pendeni Community School is not just any school to me—it represents hope for my community. It is the school I was meant to attend because it is close to home. However, due to these challenges, my grandmother made the difficult decision to enroll me at Nsobe Community School, which is far from home but offered better learning opportunities. 

Community Engagement and Action 

As part of the project, I visited Pendeni Community School to talk to girls about the value of education, encouraging them to remain in school despite the challenges they face. Wanting to make a practical and lasting impact, I went to Nsobe Game Camp, where I did piece work on weekends to raise money for books and other essential learning materials for the pupils. 

While working at the camp, a group of Irish visitors noticed me and were surprised to see someone so young working. The camp director, Auntie Fiona, was equally surprised when I explained that I had personally requested the work in order to raise funds for my education project. Moved by my dedication, she supported my efforts and later asked me to share my story. 

After hearing about my mission to promote girl-child education, the visitors were deeply touched and recorded my story. The following day, they visited Pendeni Community School themselves. After returning to Ireland, they shared my story, which inspired many people to contribute financially toward supporting the school. 

Impact and Results 

With the funds raised and due to the growing number of pupils at Pendeni Community School, the most impactful decision was to construct an additional classroom block. This milestone was made possible through the generosity of supporters, the guidance and commitment of Auntie Fiona, and the strong leadership of the school administration. 

During Module Three of my Foroige Leadership Training, I decided to continue with the same project on girl-child education, believing strongly that change begins within. As part of this leadership project, I engaged with 34 Safe House girls, educating them on the importance of staying in school. My research showed that Nsobe School had a significantly higher dropout rate among girls than boys, due to various social and economic challenges. This motivated me to share knowledge and encouragement wherever possible and all this was possible with the knowledge I gained from the kwabuka bridge program. My journey has not ended but it just began my aim is to ensure that girls have the knowledge about them being educated, and if given an opportunity I will still do the same project even in my neighboring community and still campaign and promote girl child education.