It's interesting, the things you can illustrate with a few simple numbers.  Did you know that in Tanzania, when 10 percent more girls go to school than the year prior, the economy grows by 3 percent overall?  Here's some more basic arithmetic: each year of primary school boosts a girl's future wages by 10 to 20 percent; each year of secondary school, 15 to 25.  That's no small change!

That's also why the SEGA (Secondary Education for Girls' Advancement) School is so important.  In a place where 1 in 5 people are hungry and more than 2 million children have lost their parents, child labor is prevalent, and more than one in ten girls is forced to drop out of school due to pregnancy.  SEGA, founded in 2008, offers education and promise through its curriculum, which includes business and sustainability programs.  Class sizes are kept below 30 students apiece, and solar power is used to illuminate the school's interior, reinforcing the importance of green energy.  The school's next goal is to complete a secondary boarding school for 200 girls by 2015 through grants and donations raised by Nurturing Minds, its fundraising partner.

Beating the odds through education, empowerment and environmental awareness? That's the kind of girl power we can cheer for.  Show your school spirit by visiting the Nurturing Minds website to learn more or make a donation.