This is part of an Opinion series on The New York Times Communities Fund, which assists nonprofits that provide direct support to people and communities facing hardship. Donate to the fund here.

I got my start in journalism in Kenya. Before I became a reporter I spent more than a year as a volunteer teacher in a classroom for children who couldn’t afford real school. I had arrived in the town of Machakos, an hour outside of Nairobi, determined to teach the kids who spent their days begging outside the supermarket. I realized that there was a Kenyan teacher, Alex Zakayo Mutiso, who was already doing that, so I became his unpaid intern. Every morning, I walked the dusty red roads to his classroom at the top of a hillwild casino no deposit bonus, where the children came for the bowls of githeri, a dish made with corn and beans, but stayed to learn how to read and write.

Many of the kids I taught faced heartbreaking decisions, especially the girls. One of them, Agnes, told me that she had dropped out of elementary school to work as a servant in the home of a very wealthy family. The job filled her belly but condemned her to illiteracy. When she realized that, she ran away and showed up in our classroom, ready to learn.

Eventually, Mr. Mutiso and I created a program that places vulnerable young people in apprenticeships with local businesses to learn marketable skills after completing school. One teenager in the program, Felicitas, trained under a hairdresser and eventually started her own salon, earning enough to pay her siblings’ school fees and medical bills. Her story illustrates the true power of women and girls in Africa. That power can be multiplied by education, training and social support or it can be neutralized through sexism, discrimination and abuse.

Since 1911wild casino no deposit bonus, The New York Times Communities Fund has supported vetted nonprofits that provide help to those in need. Donations are tax-deductible, and 100 percent of funds go directly to the cause.

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