Local not-for-profit helps African girls

A Harrison girl decided six years ago to start a not-for-profit to help girls in Africa - and the program continues to be a success. "I decided to teach myself to sew and I started my own hair accessory

News 12 Staff

Jan 16, 2015, 3:41 AM

Updated 3,632 days ago

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A Harrison girl decided six years ago to start a not-for-profit to help girls in Africa - and the program continues to be a success.
"I decided to teach myself to sew and I started my own hair accessory company called Reverse the Course," says Mary Grace Henry.
She first created a reversible head band and sold them for $12 out of the bookstore at her school, Covenant of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Connecticut. She was 12 years old then.
Six years later, business is booming with 100 percent of the profits making a world of difference halfway around the world.
Henry says so far the company has sponsored 45 girls and paid for 115 years of tuition. She even went to Africa in 2011 to meet the girls in person.
Reverse the Course has gotten so big that Mary Grace is now relying on a manufacturer to help with the demand as she heads off to college.
She says the first girl she helped out six years ago is now studying to become a nurse.