Michelle Obama: Girls worldwide ‘richly deserve’ education

by Mark Hensch - 03/21/15 11:53 AM ET

First Lady Michelle Obama on Saturday called on the international community to school its young women during her trip to Cambodia.

“Let’s work together to give girls worldwide the education they so richly deserve,” she said of her visit on Twitter. “Real, meaningful change in communities doesn’t happen from the top down — it happens from the ground up.”

{mosads}Obama tweeted her remarks after meeting students Saturday at a Cambodian high school in Siem Reap. The Telegraph reported that the first lady was accompanied by Bun Rany, the wife of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“You all are living proof that we can’t afford to let this kind of talent go unsupported,” the first lady told female students there. “Cambodia is proud of you. The First Lady of the United States is proud of you.”

Obama is overseas on a five-day trip to Asia cheering her new “Let Girls Learn” initiative. She traveled to Japan earlier this week before arriving in Cambodia.

The First Family announced “Let Girls Learn” on March 3. It plans on providing training for new Peace Corps volunteers and then placing them in volunteer host nations.

“Let Girls Learn” aims at schooling 62 million girls worldwide who lack educational access. Cambodia is one of 11 countries participating in the effort. The others are Albania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Georgia, Ghana, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Togo and Uganda.

“In too many parts of the world, girls are still valued more for their bodies than their minds,” President Obama said of the program during his weekly address March 7. “That’s just wrong. And we have to do more to stop it.”

The First Lady also visited Angkor Wat, Cambodia’s historic temple complex, during her trip. She returns to the U.S. on Sunday.

Tags Michelle Obama