This article was written by our Partner, the Girls Gotta Run Foundation (GGRF), for the 10th anniversary of our collaboration.

Part of GGRF programs’ strength is that we solicit the input of our Athletic Scholars and their families on a regular basis, and strive to make sure that our program remains responsive to their needs. And from Day 1 of our Life Skills program, we have been supported by partners who have provided long-term engagement.

This year marks our 10th year of collaboration with PROJECT GOOD FOR GIRLS, a small, all-volunteer nonprofit founded by Leigh Pasqual. Leigh and her colleagues share our passion and commitment to giving every girl around the planet access to education and the opportunity to pursue her own dreams.

In 2014, Leigh began a conversation with GGRF’s leadership about providing crucial learning and safe spaces to adolescent girls, using our running groups as an entry point. From that the Life Skills program (aka Girls’ Club) was born in Soddo to complement our Athletic Scholarships. Life Skills is now integral to our programming in both Soddo and Bekoji. In fact, Kathleen Ralls specifically cited Life Skills in her analysis of GGRF’s empowerment success, observing: “A comprehensive program like GGRF is necessary to truly build well-rounded individuals who have the power to change the entire trajectory of their families and communities.”

We will be able to further strengthen our Life Skills, and add exciting new components, thanks to generous support from a new partner, Project Redwood. We will share more about this partnership, and other long-term supporters, later in the summer. 

We are so grateful to Project Good for Girls, who has been a steadfast partner for a decade and has pledged additional support for the launch of  “Life Skills 2.0” this fall. We hope you, too, will be with us for the long haul!

Project Good for Girls has also been an important supporter, from the beginning, of the Mothers’ Entrepreneurship & Savings Groups in Bekoji. As part of the program there, the mothers are given small grants to shop for ingredients and prepare lunch for the girls in a makeshift kitchen set up at the government school attended by our Athletic Scholars.

The kitchen is quite basic — a covered space with cooking pots on the ground over fire (as seen above) — and the Mothers’ request for an upgrade is also part of our larger plan for expanded Life Skills. 

Be on the lookout for more news and let us know if you would like to join Project Good for Girls in supporting this venture!