(Posted April 29, 2016)

On Monday April. 18, Yassin Sarr-Fox, the founder of Starfish International, a Gambia-based non-profit grassroots organization, discussed the importance of advancing education for African girls.

Yassin grew up in the Gambia in a polygamous household. At a very young age, growing up in a society where the average household lived on $1 per day, Yassin had always known that "the only way out for the majority of the people would be education. I have also always felt that I had to be a part of the solution."

Yassin, who earned a doctorate in teaching, returned to the Gambia to establish Starfish International in her own compound where she grew up. Starfish International includes the provision of advanced education with a focus on international service learning opportunities.
Starfish International's program was conceived and written by the girls themselves. Yassin explained that although she worked with girls at risk of dropping out of school due to lack of financial support, she did not assume to know what the girls needed. Instead, she interviewed Gambian girls and their families and asked them what they needed.

Many of the girls were smart and ambitious, and wanted an education that would improve their community. As a result, the girls use their training and education at Starfish to go to their communities and teach its members, especially other women, first aid, female reproductive health and proper breastfeeding.

Yassin highlighted that it is a common misconception that African parents do not want to pay for their children to go to school. She explained that because most Gambians earn $1 per day, they can often only afford to send one child to school. "What we need are choices," said Yassin.

At the end of the presentation, Juniata's dance ensemble team offered a check of $856, obtained through fundraising events and donations, for the advancement of Starfish International.

Anne-Marcell Koume '19, Juniata Online Journalist

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.