International Service Projects
Zonta International is passionate about providing life-changing opportunities for women and girls through international service. By partnering with agencies of the United Nations and other recognized non-governmental organizations, Zonta has improved women’s health, provided better economic opportunities and prevented gender-based violence in 66 countries. Since our first service project, Zonta has contributed more than US$32.7 million to our international service projects.
During the 2020-2022 Biennium, four projects are being supported by the International Service Fund:
Let Us Learn Madagascar
UNICEF’s Let Us Learn is an integrated education program that is creating opportunities for vulnerable and excluded children, particularly girls, in Madagascar to realize their right to an education in a secure and protective environment. The project is focused on reaching out-of-school children, expanding girls’ education and improving quality outcomes for learners.
Ending Child Marriage
Globally, 21% of girls are married before they turn 18, robbing them of their childhood.
Each year, another 12 million girls under the age of 18 are married around the world. Child marriage is globally recognized as a harmful practice and a human rights violation. However, despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread and can be found in cultures, religions, ethnicities and countries around the world.
Adolescent Girls’ Health and Protection in Peru
Adolescents, especially girls, must have opportunities to empower themselves so they can speak up for their rights and develop the self-confidence and autonomy needed to take control of their lives and bodies. Significant inequities based on gender, age, geographic location, ethnicity and income persist for many Peruvian adolescents.
Defined by the Peruvian government as the ages of 12 to 17, adolescents constitute 11.2% of the population, or 3.5 million people. However, adolescents are often considered neither children nor adults and find themselves in between.
Strengthening Response to GBV Survivors in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste
Gender-based violence (GBV) is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed differences between males and females. It includes acts that inflict physical, sexual and mental harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivation of liberty.
Despite growing awareness of GBV as a life-threatening violation of human rights, poor quality of services and lack of coordination among multiple response sectors have been a major impediment for effective response to GBV in Asia and the Pacific region.
