At a cocktail last week, supporters of the 60 million girls Foundation gathered at the Forest and Stream Club in Dorval to mingle and learn more about the work of the Foundation. Wanda Bedard, the President, spoke about the group’s success in raising $1.9 million in eight years for girls’ education in developing countries. “We have supported,” she said, “17 projects in 13 countries. Our efforts have reached over 10,000 children.”

Wanda spoke about how our $100,000 investment in a project run by World University Service of Canada (WUSC) in Kenya and Malawi precipitated a $20 million investment by the British government. Our initial belief in the pilot project, and the subsequent results of our investment, provided the impetus for the larger government funding.

Wanda also highlighted the Foundation’s belief that investment in technology will be key to bringing learning to disenfranchised children in remote locations where trained teachers are not always available. 60 million girls is currently undertaking a pilot project to help a group of secondary school girls in Sierra Leone receive access to math tutorials. Using lessons downloaded from a USB key, the girls used their rudimentary knowledge of computers to teach themselves mathematical concepts they did not have access to during regular school hours. The second phase of the project brings science videos to the girls as well as enabling a larger group of students in primary and secondary school to have access to the math tutorials.

The 60 million girls Foundation is a small organization, but dedication and belief in the value of its work and mission are showing clear results.