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CHAPTER THREE ONE
areas. Despite these barriers, rural young women operate
under a great sense of obligation to their families: societal
expectations of girls not to remain a responsibility, and
to become the pivotal support for all family needs, starts
young. It is economic anxiety and dependency that drives
them from home and safety, and persuades them to risk
their own health and future prospects. Safe-guarding the
transition from school into economic security is therefore
critical to preserving the benefits of girls’ education.
established their future livelihoods. Camfed recognized
that the rural context offered little employment for female
school leavers, who often had to choose either marriage
or migration to towns, taking their new knowledge and
capabilities with them. In partnership with a founding
forum of 400 members, Camfed established Cama – the
Camfed Association – as a means of pooling advice and
organizing training to address the needs of young rural
women post-school.
Cama – a unique pan-African support network of
young women
Cama is a remarkably vital and fast-expanding network of
young women who work together in a forum to support
each other after leaving school. Camfed provides the
practical services and training for the women who are
taking on responsibilities as role models, activists and
advocates for other girls and women. Cama provides:
• a safe place where women can address the issues that
confront them as a group;
• a platform to develop leadership skills, through training
and experiential learning;
• a vehicle for practical support services aimed at young
women, e.g. Community Health and Seed Money
programs.
Cama is now a pan-African social movement, with 14,005
members in 77 rural districts across Ghana, Tanzania,
Zambia and Zimbabwe. Over the past three years, the
Cama network has grown at an average rate of 34% per
year, since 2007. From 2007 to 2008, the network grew by
51%.
The idea for Cama surfaced in 1998, as the first group of
graduates from Camfed’s secondary-school scholarship
program were completing school in Zimbabwe. These
aspiring young women wanted the peer support circles
they had built during their school years to continue as they
Cama offers a rare opportunity for young rural women
to take part in decision-making and advocacy aimed at
improving the lives of all women, children and families in
their communities. In support, Camfed has worked closely
with existing structures to advance the representation
of Cama women on local decision-making bodies. Cama
members are also represented on Camfed’s Community
Development Committees (CDCs), where they play a
critical leadership role in developing and implementing
the Camfed program in the company of local government
officers, chiefs, teachers, and other leading members of
the community. Their experience is invaluable to the CDC
and to Camfed, and their involvement is empowering for
Cama members themselves in an environment where
women traditionally exercise little power. The opportunity
to support and lead others within the Cama organization
affirms to the young women that they have leadership
skills, and this gives them the confidence to use the skills
beyond the network. Cama members soon become
well-respected in their communities, and are seen as role
models who can advise other women and girls. Many of
Camfed’s full-time employees in Africa are drawn from the
Cama membership.
Cama has a pan-African dimension and as such carries
enormous potential to generate momentum across
the region. It also serves as an important route for
international exchange of knowledge. Cama members
help to establish Cama programs in new countries (most
recently in Malawi), and to deliver training where expertise
in one country can benefit other groups. Cama members
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