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[studiosamuelfoundation]

STUDIO SAMUEL HONORS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AND THE   MOVEMENT TO FORGE A GENDER EQUAL WORLD

CELEBRATING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF STUDIO SAMUEL STUDENTS WITH IWD EVENTS IN LOS ANGELES MARCH 7-8

Thanks to The White Feather Foundation, Studio Samuel Relaunches HIV/AIDS Program for its Students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 

[Los Angeles, CA - March 6, 2020] New York/Addis Ababa-based NGO and non-profit organization Studio Samuel, which empowers at-risk girls to reach their potential through education and employable skills, is celebrating International Women’s Day (March 8) with its first events in California. This year’s theme ‘each for equal’ elevates the message that gender equality is essential for economies and communities to thrive, which is at the heart of Studio Samuel’s mission. On Saturday, March 7, Studio Samuel US team members are participating in the 5K Rodeo Run in Huntington Beach for awareness and fundraising for its life skills program Training for Tomorrow. On Sunday, March 8, with support from Ethiopian Airlines and Ethiopia Healthcare Network, Studio Samuel is hosting a private event with performance by Esy at the Ethiopian restaurant Rosalind’s in Los Angeles to share its mission and stories of girls’ empowerment with the goal of building community and driving support for student scholarships.  

One such story of empowerment is that of Studio Samuel student Melesse’s mother, who was denied an education and is determined to support her daughter’s path. When she was struggling to afford rent in Melesse’s early years, she moved into a plastic container room strategically located roadside, where she could sell biscuits and candy to passersby while her daughter was safe. This allowed her to save money for uniform and supplies when Melesse started school. Melesse, who excels in science, is aware of the sacrifices her mom has made to keep her in school, and her goal is to be first in the family to reach 10th grade and earn a university degree.

From its training center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Studio Samuel is participating in the International Women’s Day global conversation for gender equality by sharing imagery of its students striking the IWD #EachforEqual pose. Engaging in the movement opens up a vehicle for Studio Samuel students to learn about the challenges girls face globally, and brings their voices to the collective fight for girls’ empowerment everywhere. 

Studio Samuel is excited to announce that the life-changing campaign to restore its HIV/AIDS Prevention Course is fully funded, thanks to The White Feather Foundation. Currently there are 100 girls in Studio Samuel’s after school program Training for Tomorrow, and 50 girls enrolled in the Studio Samuel Institute of Art & Technology, the government accredited college program that launched in late 2019. The HIV/AIDS Prevention Course has been an important part of the Training for Tomorrow curriculum, implemented out of need after a 10-year-old student became the sole caregiver to her HIV+ mother in 2015. After becoming inoperable last year due to lack of resources, the organization is grateful to bring it back for Spring 2020. Access to healthcare resources is another facet of empowerment and a necessity for all in an equal world. Studio Samuel’s vision is a world where girls everywhere, no matter where they were born, know that they have the same hope and possibilities.

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"I've been impressed and energized by Studio Samuel Foundation's sustainable model and approach for women's empowerment in Ethiopia. The organization stands to make an impact with women, not just for women - and most importantly with the local communities, not over them."                                                       -Philanthropist, Photographer & Musician, Julian Lennon

About Studio Samuel

Studio Samuel opened its training center doors to the first class of 25 girls in January 2015 after being granted an International NGO license by the Charities and Societies Agency in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Studio Samuel’s mission is to arm at-risk girls to reach their potential through education and employable skills with Training for Tomorrow, the organization’s trademarked life skills program. Today, the program has reached over 2,200 girls (9-18 years old) in Ethiopia and its vocational arm has been accredited as a college. Studio Samuel Institute of Technology opened in October 2019 to 50 young women (18-24 years old).

Tamara Horton, FIT graduate, Women’s Campaign International Global Ambassador to Ethiopia and Board Member of Ethiopia Healthcare Network, founded Studio Samuel following the international adoption of her son, Samuel. Tamara saw firsthand that safe options were stripped from a girl when she is born into poverty and is denied an education. Her goal was to create a 'teach a man to fish' platform which would result in opportunity and safe options, steering girls away from the all too common pathways of child marriage, trafficking, and child labor, which deny them education and voice.

Training for Tomorrow is held after school and on weekends and impacts young Ethiopian women through mentoring, counseling, self-defense training, occupational training, healthcare and more. Studio Samuel graduates are enrolling in college, mentoring peers and using their voice for change in their communities.

Studio Samuel is grateful to have its mission supported and amplified by Global Ambassadors Julian Lennon and Izzy Bizu.