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Conflict has taken her home, but it must not take her future.
Girls HerRising is a feminist grassroots initiative working to educate, empower, and equip internally displaced girls and young women from Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis to reclaim their futures and lead change in their communities. As the only organization in Cameroon focused exclusively on internally displaced girls and young women affected by the Anglophone crisis, we are committed to ensuring that no girl’s potential is lost to conflict.
We envision a future where no girl’s potential is lost to conflict, where education, dignity, and leadership are within reach for every displaced girl.
Every crisis impacts women and girls differently. Displaced girls and young women are among the most severely affected and the least supported. In Cameroon’s Anglophone regions, thousands of girls have been forced to flee violence, grow up far too soon, and spend years without ever stepping into a classroom. Schools have been attacked. Education has been banned. Childhoods have been stolen.
Since the crisis began in 2016, more than 600,000 students have lost access to education in a country where only 46 percent of girls nationally reach secondary school. For displaced girls, the numbers are even lower.
With limited options for safety or schooling, many are pushed into early marriage, transactional sex, domestic exploitation, or street hawking. For too many, survival has replaced education. Survival has become their curriculum.
At Girls HerRising, we focus exclusively on displaced girls and young women because, even in crisis, education remains their right, and displacement should not define the limits of their lives. Their futures are worth investing in and protecting.
In 2024, the Norwegian Refugee Council ranked Cameroon as the world’s most neglected displacement crisis.
3.1M+
displaced across Cameroon
1 country, 3 overlapping emergencies
overlapping emergencies: Anglophone armed conflict (North-West/South-West), Lake Chad climate crisis (Far North), Refugee crisis from Central African Republic (East)
51%
of IDPs are children; 52% of refugees are women and girls (UNHCR).
The impact of school closures and conflict on girls’ education in Cameroon is drawing international attention. This DW News report highlights the urgent challenges displaced girls face and how Girls HerRising is supporting them to stay in school and rebuild their futures
Our work is grounded in a feminist, crisis-responsive approach and centers the lived realities of displaced girls and young women. Together, we co-create programs around three transformative pillars:
When conflict and displacement force girls out of school, we support their return to learning by addressing financial and structural barriers through targeted education support and vocational pathways.
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For displaced girls returning to school, period poverty is a powerful barrier. It keeps 1 in 5 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa out of the classroom and affects displaced girls most severely.
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We strengthen displaced girls’ and young women’s voices, confidence, and leadership through mentorship, storytelling, and collective advocacy.
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I know what it means to be silenced, sidelined, and told your dreams don’t matter. Growing up as an underprivileged young girl, I lived the ache of poverty, the isolation of period stigma, the uncertainty of finishing school, and the weight of teenage pregnancy, becoming a mother before I was ready. I have walked the same hard roads too many girls are forced to take. But education saved me. It opened a door when every other one was closed. Today, my country is torn by conflict, worsening the already existing barriers girls face each day. This is why I founded Girls HerRising: to stand with displaced girls and young women who have lost their education and livelihoods to crisis. My goal is to help them rise, take back their futures, and become the leaders their communities need.
Founder, Girls HerRising
Before the crisis, my parents were farmers and could support my education. But when the shooting began, I was forced to flee to Douala, and everything became harder. I had to adapt to a new environment and even help my sister pay rent. I sold peanuts and puffpuff on the streets to cover part of my school fees, but it was never enough, and I eventually dropped out. I have always wanted to become a food process engineer. I had almost lost hope before I got selected for the ECSMI Scholarship. Now, I can dream again and plan for my future.”
When the crisis started, my parents lost their source of livelihood. We had no income, no stability. I was scared I would drop out of school and be forced to get married just so we could survive, like so many other girls around me. I never imagined I would make it to university. But Girls HerRising gave me that chance. And now I am moving forward, one step at a time.
Conflict and displacement have stolen her school, her childhood, and her dreams. With your support, she can return to class, gain the skills and confidence she needs to step back into a life full of opportunity, dignity, and leadership.
We are the only organization in Cameroon dedicated exclusively to supporting internally displaced girls and young women affected by the Anglophone Crisis.
Get in touch with us
girlsherrising@gmail.com
+237672377935
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