Camfed - the Campaign for Female Education - is an international non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating poverty in Africa through the education of girls and the empowerment of young women. Camfed programs operate in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi.
Camfed was founded by Ann Cotton, after being inspired by her travels to Zimbabwe in 1992. In 1993, Ann started Camfed (then ‘Cambridge Female Education Trust’) by fund-raising at her kitchen table and the first 32 girls were supported into school in two of the most impoverished districts of Zimbabwe.
Anticipating the need for post-school economic opportunities in the students' communities, the Camfed Association (Cama) was established in 1998 to connect young female school leavers and offer post-secondary school training opportunities in owning and managing money. Cama provides a structure through which its members can develop their activism and leadershipe. Today, Cama has a membership of 15,437 with structures that extend from village to district, national and pan-African levels.