Toronto, Canada

With generous funding from the Government of Canada, Right To Play is strengthening its focus on quality education for girls in Ghana, Mozambique and Rwanda. Over the next five years, the Government of Canada has committed CAD $19.5M in support of the Right To Play project GREAT (Gender-Responsive Education and Transformation), giving girls equal opportunities to receive a quality education and to shape their futures. The program uses Right To Play's gender-responsive play-based learning approach to remove barriers to education and build teacher capacity to improve learning outcomes among primary school-aged children.

Girls in Rwanda, Ghana and Mozambique face multiple barriers to education such as cultural prejudice favouring boys education over girls, harmful traditional practices like child-marriage and early pregnancy, inadequate sanitation facilities, conflict and natural disaster. The focus on gender equality combined with the Government of Canada’s substantial financial investment is meeting an urgent and unmet need and will help unlock the power of girls living in some of the world's most difficult places, as they realize their right to an education.

Thanks to this commitment, quality education will now be a reality for 221,486 (109,057 F) children, 3,228 (1,682 F) teachers, and 744,974 community members (mothers, fathers and caregivers) over the course of the project across all three countries. Education is key to empowering women and girls and brings hope to a new generation of girls who have been neglected, overlooked and left out of school. By choosing to invest in girls' education, Canada is prioritizing the needs of girls, who are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys.

The investment in girls is not only empowering for millions of them it has also proven to be sustainable and impactful. Every additional year of primary education that a girl receives will encourage her to marry later and have fewer children. She will be 60 per cent less likely to become pregnant before she turns 17 and will be less vulnerable to violence. Her future earnings will also increase by 10 to 20 per cent for every year she attends school.

By supporting their right to claim a quality education and embrace opportunity, the Government of Canada and Right To Play share a commitment in helping these girls rise above their often difficult and dangerous circumstances.

Right To Play is a global organization committed to improving the lives of children and youth affected by conflict, disease and poverty. Established in 2000, Right To Play has pioneered a unique play-based approach to learning and development which focuses on quality education, life skills, health, gender equality, child protection and building peaceful communities. With programming in 15 countries, Right To Play transforms the lives of more than one million children each week, both inside and outside of the classroom. In addition to our work with children, Right To Play advocates with parents, local communities, and governments to advance the fundamental rights of all children.

Right To Play is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Our programs are facilitated by more than 600 international staff and 32,000 local teachers and coaches. For more information, follow @RightToPlayIntl and visit www.righttoplay.com.

For further information:

Adriana Ermter, Manager, Global Communications, aermter@righttoplay.com

Shayna Halliwell, Senior Manager, Global Program Partnerships, shalliwell@righttoplay.com