Today 11 October we celebrate, International Day of the Girl Child. With this years theme being “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force”, we join other women as we stand with girls everywhere as they inspire, innovate and take charge of their own future. There are roughly 1.1 billion girls around the world who are challenging the status quo, they’re redefining girlhood, and they’re doing so against the odds.
International Day of Girl is an initiative set up in 2012 to recognise the challenges young girls are facing globally, The main aims of the day are to promote girl’s empowerment and fulfillment of their human rights while also highlighting the challenges that girls all over the world face. Although there has been some progress there is still so much more we can do for girls around the world and the girls in our lives.
If you want to celebrate International Day of the Girl, here’s some things you can do to get involved:
1. Talk to girls around you about their career aspirations.
I’m sure you can remember a time in your life when you never had a clue of what you wanted to do, some of us even still feel like that now. Many girls are not made aware of the different career options they have or how to go about getting on the career path they desire. Set some times aside and ask the girls in your life how you can support them in their educations, discuss what they aspire to be, help them become aware of their strengths and job roles that could be suited to them.
2. Support orginisations that are dedicated to empowering girls around the world.
Many orginisations are taking the stand to fight against period poverty, child marriage, to helping with girls education, teaching girls their rights and providing them with better healthcare. Here are a few orginisations that could use your support through donations or lending your time by volunteering:’
A campaign sharing the story of 9 incredible young females who survived Boko Haram.
Boko Haram, a remorseless insurgency, that stands in violent opposition to education, threatens to unhinge the everyday lives of communities and families. Since 2014, over 2,000 young girls have been abducted. Uprooted and stripped of their freedom, these women are strapped with explosive devices and forced to undertake suicide missions within their own communities. Countless stories remain untold, unwritten and unknown.
They inspire and empower girls from the least advantaged communities by connecting them with a mentor and a network of professional female role models. Find out how you can become a mentor.
Malala Fund is an international, non-profit organization that fights for girls’ education. It was founded by Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and her father, Ziauddin. Malala is fighting to give back to girls what poverty, war and discrimination tried to take away. Donate today to help us give all girls the opportunity to learn and lead.
GlobalGiving is the largest global crowdfunding community connecting nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country. They help nonprofits from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (and hundreds of places in between) access the tools, training, and support they need to be more effective and make our world a better place. This fund will support all the projects on the GlobalGiving website. Donations will be used to provide incentives like matching funds and bonuses during campaigns and bonus days for existing and new projects. A portion of the fund may also go to support GlobalGiving’s operations so that they can serve more organizations and projects.
When a girl is educated, everything changes. One girl helps African girls receive support and education. They work with well established implementing partners who have a long history of delivering high-quality education programs across Africa. Find out more on how you can support them.
Support a girl today.
