Malala Yousafzai Announces First Grant from Her Fund
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Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was targeted and shot by the Taliban last October for supporting education for girls, has announced the first grant from her fund.
The $45,000 will go to support the education of 40 girls, ages 5 to 12, living in Pakistan.
“Announcing the first grant of the Malala Fund is the happiest moment in my life,” Yousafzai said in a video shown to thousands attending the Women in the World Summit in New York City Thursday night. “I invite all of you to support the Malala Fund and let us turn the education of 40 girls into 40 million girls.”
According to a statement, the grant will fund a program in Pakistan’s Swat Valley that will “enroll the girls in school, offer a safe space for convening and provide them with resources and support to adapt to an educational environment, such as school uniforms, shoes, and learning materials.”
The chosen organization or specific community will not be named “for security reasons,” the statement says.
Yousafzai created the Malala Fund in February, months after she was transported to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, to be treated for her gunshot wounds. She now lives in Birmingham with her family.
Announcing the new fund in February, Malala said in a video statement that she created it because she wants “every girl, every child to be educated.”
The Malala Fund was established on behalf of Yousafzai and her family by Vital Voices, a global non-governmental organization advancing girls’ and women’s leadership through training and mentoring. The group worked together with supporters of the cause, including The United Nations Foundation, Girl Up and several other organizations and individuals.
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