Windhoek — American Ambassador Dennise Mathieu and Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Becky Ndjoze-Ojo, will this morning officially open the Third All San Girls' Conference at the Katutura Multi-Purpose Youth Center.

The conference will focus on the barriers to education faced by San girls, and on the most effective means to empower them to take control of their futures by staying in and performing well in school.

The event will also assess and celebrate the impact of the past four years of United States Government support to the San girls. The five-day conference will bring together 60 San girls from three regions (Otjozondjupa, Kavango and Omaheke), representing five schools, with education experts from the Forum for African Women Educationalists in Namibia (FAWENA), focal teachers and role models.

The educational gathering is sponsored by the United States Ambassadors Girls' Scholarship Program (AGSP), which supports 950 marginalized or vulnerable girls in Namibian primary schools. One hundred and fifty of the 950 scholarship recipients are San girls. The scholarship program pays for school uniforms, school supplies, boarding and lodging fees, and psycho-social support.

The Girls Scholarship Program is part of USAID's Africa Education Initiative and a key element of the basic education strategy that the US Government supports in Namibia.

As of 2007, the US Government has provided approximately $412 million Namibian dollars to improve the quality of education and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on the education sector in Namibia.