Josh and Angelique Kidjo have joined together to work through Batonga to change the lives of African girls and their future families through education.

Supporting Education for Girls in Africa

Batonga’s mission is to support both secondary school and higher education for girls in Africa. They are doing this by granting scholarships, building secondary schools, increasing enrollment, improving teaching standards, providing school supplies, supporting mentor programs, exploring alternative education models and advocating for community awareness of the value of education for girls.

The work of Batonga in Africa is to:

grant scholarships for girls to attend existing secondary schools (grades 7 to 12), with continued support as they progress through university, vocational school or other skill-based adult learning activities.
build secondary schools in a limited number of communities that can guarantee that a minimum of half the students will be girls and where the school, once built, will be operated through ongoing government and community support.
increase enrollment of girls in existing schools by building dormitory facilities where distance from school to home are too great, and providing parental support and incentives that help to ensure the girls stay in school.
improve teaching standards in secondary schools by supporting internet-based distance learning, wage incentives, enhanced summer programs, mentoring by master teachers and onsite teacher-training programs.
provide school supplies in the form of textbooks, library books, teaching materials, notebooks, paper, pens, pencils and other basic items which are often non-existent or in short supply.
support mentor programs for girl students that link them with older women who can serve as guides and elder ‘protectors’ as the girls face challenges both personal and social during the course of their education.
explore alternative education models such as mobile secondary schools and radio-based distance learning for remote communities or for families with cultural restrictions on girls being sent away from home for schooling.
advocate for community awareness to promote and support girls’ education by addressing the gender prejudice and cultural traditions that restrict the empowerment of women in general, and their access to education in particular.

In choosing the individual girls, schools and communities to receive support, priority is given to the most disadvantaged populations within the target countries. Particular attention is given to girls who are AIDS orphans or whose families are affected by AIDS. They will receive scholarships as well as financial assistance so that they can stay among their neighbors, friends and extended families in their communities rather than on the street or in an orphanage.

With the goal of having a pan-African impact, Batonga has begun operating in five countries: Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali and Sierra Leone. There is more information on the website at www.batongafoundation.org about what Batonga is doing in each of these countries as well as information about each of the countries themselves.