{{“Look at us and see the hope of Africa!”}}

The proud, confident young woman gestured to her classmates with joy in her voice as she gave the graduation address last week at the Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology.

These 86 teenage girls have a bright future ahead of them; many will go on to share their talents with Rwanda as doctors, scientists, and engineers. They are also very fortunate: not only do they have smart minds, they have families who recognized their potential and sacrificed to give them the opportunity to fulfill it. In a world where more than 60 million girls are not in school and many young women are not allowed to progress past primary school, this support is no small matter.

What these parents know is that an investment in their daughters’ education is an investment in the future of their family and their community. Many studies have shown that educated women have healthier children, who are more likely to be vaccinated and well-nourished.

According to UNESCO, a child born to a mother who can read is 50 percent more likely to survive past the age of five. Educated girls are also healthier themselves. They marry when they are older, have fewer children, and are less likely to contract HIV – or transmit it to their children.

Educating girls is not just about thriving women and families; it is also a smart development strategy to ensure the entire society prospers. In the words of President Barack Obama, “The best judge of whether or not a country is going to develop is how it treats its women.”

After looking at 100 countries, the World Bank found that increasing the share of women with a secondary education by one percent boosts annual per capita income growth by 0.3 percentage points. In fact, for every additional year of secondary education a girl receives, her future wages can increase by 15 to 25 percent. This income is in turn invested back into her family and her community.

In recent years, Rwanda has been leading the developing world in terms of girls’ enrollment, with 98 percent of primary age girls enrolled in school. This is remarkable, and should be applauded. The United States is proud to partner with the government of Rwanda as it continues to advance equal access to high-quality education for boys and girls across the country. Last year, we contributed $22.5 million to this important cause.

After we get girls in school however, we need to do more to make sure they can stay there. This is especially important once young women reach secondary school, when dropout rates are the highest. We can do this by ensuring that young women have access to personal hygiene items and adequate facilities, as well as by encouraging communities to recognize that the time a daughter spends studying is as valuable a contribution to her family’s future as her chores and responsibilities inside the home.

On October 11, as we celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, I will be remembering the smiling faces of the jubilant graduates of Gashora Girls Academy. Their intelligence, determination, and desire to serve their country do indeed make them the hope of Africa. May their example – and the example of their families – serve as an inspiration for many others throughout Rwanda and around the world.

{Rebecca Danis is the Acting Public Affairs Officer at U.S. Embassy Kigali, Republic of Rwanda}