GIRLFORWARD
MISSON
GirlForward is a community of support dedicated to creating and enhancing opportunities for girls who have been displaced by conflict and persecution.
WHAT WE DO
Through three core programs, GirlForward addresses some of the biggest challenges faced by girls ages 14-21: poverty, language barrier, limited and disrupted education, social isolation, and trauma.
The Mentoring Program pairs girls with mentors to engage in "4W" activities (Wellness, Wisdom, Wallet and World) in order to explore their passions and graduate from high school. Participants are paired with women mentors in the local community for at least one school year, and they meet together at least two hours weekly. Mentors and mentees are friends, role models, teachers, and confidants for each other.
Camp GirlForward provides a space for girls to simultaneously build their English skills while exploring their identities and learning about the world around them. Over six-weeks, our literacy-based curriculum explores themes of identity, community, and power through classroom instruction and field trips.
The Safe Spaces Program provides safe spaces for girls to explore their identities, connect with other girls, and access the resources they need. Curriculum ranges from tutoring to a variety of monthly workshops.
WHY REFUGEES? WHY GIRLS?
We are in the midst of the largest refugee crisis the world has ever seen. More than 65 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced from their homes since World War II. In situations of conflict, girls are especially vulnerable to violence, isolation, and being kept out of school. GirlForward exists because of the unique barriers to opportunity that girls have faced because of displacement, and the barriers they continue to face in the U.S.
WHERE WE ARE
GirlForward currently has programs in Chicago, IL and Austin, TX.