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A Hero to 30,000 Girls and Counting

Girl Child Network - Zimbabwe - Women’s Empowerment

Photo: Paola Gianturco

“Each time I looked at [the girls], I saw great potential erased by abject poverty.” –Betty Makoni

Betty Makoni is a founding member of Girl Child Network in Zimbabwe. She was also the inspirational Executive Director until mid-2009.

Much has been written about Betty’s work and the impact of her vision for girls in Zimbabwe and anywhere that their rights are challenged. But the written word rarely captures Betty’s spirit and passion. On the 10th anniversary of GCN, Betty sent us this message:

Once A Dream, Now a Reality

I never imagined a situation where a rural girl would one day email from Oxford [University] to say, “I finally made it.”

Personally, I never imagined a situation where a rural girl would one day email from Oxford [University] to say, “I finally made it.” I was used to seeing girls with dirty, torn uniforms, shoeless, rough feet and rough hands. My picture of girls = in tears, overworked, married off, domesticated and raped – made me worry a lot. Each time I looked at them, I saw great potential erased by abject poverty.

Now when I open my email box ten years down the line, I get messages that make me feel the world must relook empowerment programs for girls and replicate the Girl Child Empowerment Model by Girl Child Network wherever, whenever, however they can.

CNN recently honored Betty as a CNN Hero. See Betty talk about the work of GCN in two videos on CNN.