DONOR

The Council is grateful for the generous support of the Stuart Family Foundation in making this project possible and believing in its value from the very beginning.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Council is grateful for the generous support of the Stuart Family Foundation in making this project possible and thankful for the guidance of Cathy DeWeirdt as the project evolved.
 

Creating a digital report that houses a range of diverse views and perspectives would not be possible without the contributions of our authors. Their wisdom and talents have made a powerful case for better understanding the contributions of girls in rural areas to the world and the ways in which the world can better respond to the needs and potential of rural girls.
 

We are also grateful for the many conversations, consultations, and reviews that shaped the project. In particular, the encouragement and feedback of Carol Bellamy and Arlene Mitchell were instrumental, starting many years ago. Their long-standing commitment to girls, and children more generally, made them an invaluable resource to the project. We are also grateful for Heather Hill’s assistance with compiling and supporting editing the final report. In addition, we were greatly assisted by an early dialogue with policy and gender professionals in Washington, DC, in December 2017; consultations with agricultural professionals at the AGRA Green Revolution Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, in September 2018; and conversations with child nutrition and school health experts at the Global Child Nutrition Forum held in Tunis, Tunisia, in October 2018.  
 

Participants in the Washington, DC, discussion included Carol Bellamy, Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund; Renée Giovarelli, Resource Equity; Shanta Gyan Bryant, Initiative for Global Development; Jenny Lah, independent consultant; Ruth Levtov, Promundo USA; Arlene Mitchell, Global Child Nutrition Foundation, Esther Ngumbi, Auburn University; Sia Nowrojee, United Nations Foundation; Geeta Rao Gupta, United Nations Foundation; Shalini Roy, IFPRI; and Gwen Young, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
 

Participants in the AGRA discussion included Tolulope Aina, CEO, Tolulope Foods and Farms; Gamal Alim, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Sudan; Salome Asena, United States International University, Nairobi; Brylyne Chitsunge, Ambassador for Pan-African Parliament for Food Security; Saul Daniel Ddumba, Makerere University; Cedric Habiyaremye, Washington State University; Titilayo Femi Austin Kings, LEAD Transformation Initiative; Cecilia Khupe, African Fertilizer Agribusiness Partnership; Andrew Lgala, Green Without Borders; Jan Low, International Potato Center; Jemimah Njuki, International Development Research Center; and Atif Tala, agripreneur, Enable Youth Sudan.
 

Discussions at Global Child Nutrition Foundation informed this report and were delivered as part of a workshop in collaboration with Sam Sternin of Ag Connectors. Dozens of school health and nutrition professionals participated in workshops focused on rural girls in the late stages of the project’s development. The Council is grateful for the examples, questions, and suggestions of this large group and their willingness to talk about challenges in reaching the most vulnerable girls in their day-to-day work.
 

We are also grateful for the review of Ruth Meinzen-Dick and Agnes Quisumbing of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the content of the Young Lives project at Oxford University, and the content and introductions facilitated by the ONE Campaign and Women Deliver. Without the support of these organizations, we would not have met many of newer the voices highlighted in this report. In addition, we appreciate the conversations and advice of staff at the Wilson Center Women’s Leadership Initiative, Girl Rising, the Girl Effect, GirlStats, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We are also grateful to the graduate students at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, who provided background research on private-sector activities supporting rural girls. The diversity of perspectives of these voices, our wonderful authors, and the many partners who advised us along the way is most appreciated in creating this final product.
 

Finally, the Council would like to acknowledge several staff members who brought this report into fruition. Alesha Black provided overall direction and drafting support for the project, in particular on the progress report and action sections. Laura O’Carroll provided project management, research, author support, and drafting, particularly on the progress report. In addition, she provided oversight of interns Jack Drumm, Shuhan Zhou, and Sally Park. Additional staff support was provided by Alyssa Ceretti, Irina Gavrilova, Katelyn Jones, Madeleine Nicholson, Sharlene Prosser, Tria Raimundo, and Vanessa Taylor. Prior staff Louise Iverson and Isabelle DoCampo provided important early input to the project as well. We would also like to thank the team from Chicago Creative Group for designing and building this site for the report. Catherine Hug and Duane Nelsen provided creative and editorial direction and team members Colleen Quinn and Maureen Mills (designers), Caitlyn D’Aunno (copy editor), and Spencer Darrow (project coordinator) brought the site to life.
 

We hope this project will be a living resource and a starting point for greater action supporting rural girls around the world.