Programs
Expanding Lives programming takes place in Benin and Niger. Currently, we offer 5 programs.
Scholarships
Young women who have previously attended our Chicago program are provided scholarships for high school, university, or vocational education. High school-aged girls receive school supplies, school fees, transportation costs, and tutoring as needed. Our young women attending university receive the same and, if needed, get support with housing. Vocational trainees receive training and internship support.
Vacation Leadership Workshop
Expanding Lives supports one-week workshops led by young women who have attended our past conferences in Chicago. Our leaders meet with the middle school girls, their families, and community leaders to encourage school continuation.
In Niger, middle school girls are at risk of being withdrawn from school to get married. In Benin, they are at risk of early pregnancy, likewise putting their education at risk. Then the girls take a week of courses in English, menstruation, leadership, yoga, and entrepreneurship skills like soap or juice making.
A panel of professional women talks to the girls about how they have succeeded. The week ends with community leaders coming back to hear the girls speak about their experiences and to celebrate their accomplishments and their future. More than 60 girls in Niger and Benin benefited from the project each year.
Ma Soeur, Mon Modéle
(My Sister, My Role Model)
Middle school and high school students, usually from underserved rural schools, are supported throughout the school year by our Chicago graduates. The program provides school fees and supplies, tutoring, and sometimes a mid-day meal and/or transportation costs. Our graduates mentor them with check-ins throughout the year and hold an end-of-year ceremony with certificates and even prizes for those who have done well. For some girls, this program provides them with the very first notebook, a necessary tool for success in a school system that rarely uses books. Each year 100 to 200 girls in Niger benefit from this project.
Small Projects Funding
In order to get experience in project management, our Chicago graduates apply for small sums to fund projects addressing the education, health, and entrepreneurship needs of women, girls, and orphans in Niger and Benin. From application to final report, they will lead projects that improve their communities and enhance their leadership skills. We hope to build on this project in the future. We aim to fund 5 projects this year.
Mother-Daughter Taboo Break
This project in Benin aims at breaking the taboos surrounding talking about menstruation, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. Proposed by our partners in Benin, Femme et Developpement, this project brings women together to learn about and discuss culturally taboo topics and then trains them in communicating these issues with their daughters. Women are encouraged to talk with other women as well. Last year 50 women and their daughters participated in the project.
