It's all in the headline today.
According to data provided by UNAIDS, the longer a girl in Swaziland stays in school, the less likely she is to have sex before age 18. How likely?
Girls who make it to university or "tertiary" education have less than 20% likelihood of having their first sexual encounter before age 18. For girls with no education: over 80%.
4 in 5 girls with no education are exposed to sex before age 18. Sadly, nearly 2-in-5 girls with no education will have sex before age 15. In a country with a 45% HIV rate, when you have sex and who you have it with is a very big deal.
Can you guess which Swazi kids are the most uneducated: orphans.
Statistics like these give even greater urgency to our $150,000 Scared Education Fund campaign. We've selected 30 orphans in Swaziland to participate in the final writing contest and receive the $5,000 scholarship to keep them in school. Want to help judge?
For a gift of $25 toward the Scared Education Fund campaign, you'll join our team of online judges who will read, evaluate, and judge each of the entries. The winners will receive a party for their carepoint. The $25 you give will go directly to the scholarship fund for these thirty kids. Plus, all judges will receive an early release copy of my new book "Priceless" when it releases this May. Click here to donate, and put "SCARED JUDGE" in the notes.
Once your transaction is complete, we'll contact you with the login information for the Judges exclusive Web site, and confirm your participation.
Knowing that keeping kids in school can delay their sexual activity and possibly rescue them from HIV/AIDS compels me to do as much as we can. We're starting with $150,000 to help 30 orphans. Give today to join our judges team, and e-mail Hannah (hleman@hopechest.org) about long-term opportunities to support these kids through monthly giving at only $80/month.