“Invest in a girl, and she will do the rest, but to do that, she needs your help now.”
The Girl Effect is “a movement driven by girl champions around the globe.” With an impressive list of partnerships like The Nike Foundation, the NoVo Foundation, the United Nations Foundation and the Coalition for Adolescent Girls, this organization is effectively communicating the idea that if you lift a girl out of poverty, you lift the world out of poverty.
When a girl living in poverty turns 12, her life reaches a crossroads.
One path has her marrying – one in seven marry at the age of 14 in developing parts of the world – becoming pregnant by 15, possibly contracting HIV, and possibly forced to sell her body in order to survive.
The other path is much brighter – receive an education, stay healthy, marry when she chooses and raise a healthy family.
When a girl in the developing world goes to school for seven years of more, she, on average, marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children. One quarter to one half of girls in developing countries have children before the age of 18: that's 14 million girls between the ages of 15 and 19. This is not to say that marriage or children are a negative impact on women, but that in those areas of the world, the maternal and infant mortality rates are much higher at such a young age.
An extra year of primary school boosts girls' wages by 10 to 20 percent. An extra year of secondary school raises that amount even higher, to 15-25%. And yet, 25% of girls in developing countries are not in school. (An interesting note is that early marriage and pregnancy are not a cause of dropping out of school, but rather a consequence.)
In sub-Saharan Africa only 17% of girls are enrolled in secondary school. Why such a gender gap? One reason may be that girls are needed for household labor, while the boys can be spared. Another possible reason is that there are fewer secondary schools available, causing the children to travel further distances. Many families do not want to risk sending their girls on such a journey. Education also costs money; many families would rather invest in the boys than girls. After all, girls will only marry and have babies, so why educate them?
In fact, the opposite of that is true. If a girl receives education, she has a ripple effect on the entire community. According to a Girls Count Report on Adolescent Girls (by the Population Council), formal schooling during a girl's adolescence has a correlation with “delayed sexual initiation, later marriage and childbearing, lower rates of HIV/AIDS and other reproductive morbidities, fewer hours of domestic and/or labor market work, and greater gender equality.” By staying in school, girls prepare themselves for future social and health benefits for themselves and their families. Once they are out of school and have families of their own, they
“...practice safer health and hygiene practices, more time and resources for children's health and education, more exposure to information that can be used to support children in various ways, better child nutrition, the use of contraceptives leading to smaller family size, improved household incomes through greater labor force participation and earnings, greater bargaining power within the household, and greater ability to act on preferences for investment in children.”
The story of Shumi is a powerful example of the Girl Effect. This nineteen-year-old Bangladeshi girl says that families in her village rarely let a girl out of the house, because “people will talk about it.” Shumi denounces the status quo by declaring that she will not marry until she is ready. She opened her own shop with $37. It is very successful, and Shumi now is the leader of a local girl's center. She says that she would tell the girls of the world that whatever she does, even if it's small, she will see a brighter future. She would tell large corporations and individual people that if they would help a girl like her, they would affect the entire world. She would tell them,
“One girl can start the girl effect...”
Juthikar, also Bangladeshi, was considered a burden. She would have been married off at an early age in order to be written off the family balance sheet, but instead, through the support of Brac (http://www.brac.net/), she purchased ducks, grows a vegetable garden, and tutors schoolboys. She makes $37 per month and is putting herself through school, along with her brothers. She supports her father and her mother.
Fifty million girls live in poverty throughout the world. Some of the world's worst social injustices are experienced by women alone. Maternal mortality, female genital mutilation/cutting, the worst forms of child labor, sexual violence, obstetric and traumatic fistula rates, low economic opportunity, and unaccompanied minors working as domestic workers. The incidence of human trafficking is also primarily girls.
TheGirlEffect.com is a website that brings together a large number of resources to promote gender equality in education, health, and overall existence. It and it's affiliates stress the importance and potential of girls all over the world. They only need to be given a chance.
To begin making a difference yourself, you can send a girl to school, give her a microloan, or help her with legal services. Go towww.globalgiving.org/girleffect. Or, if you are in the US, you can text GIRL to 50555 to donate $10. Go to mGive.org/T for full terms and help on texting your donation.
(A post for a couple of different blogs; it builds on a previous blog)
Poverty and Human Trafficking
Southeast Asia is a hub for human trafficking. Too often, young girls are lured by traffickers through promises of well paying jobs in the cities. If you have read Half theSky, by Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl Wudunn, you will already be aware of the horrors endured by women and girls caught in the web of modern day slavery, and if you don't know, read the book. It's easy to read but hard to handle.
The United Nations describes trafficking in persons as the “recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion abduction, of fraud, for the purpose of exploitation”. It is modern day slavery.
I write for a woman that runs a non-profit in Northeastern India. The work I have done for her has changed me. It's overwhelming to realize that such brutality and twisted sexuality exists in the world. On the other hand, it is an impetus to keep working and making a difference in the world.
Poverty is the primary factor in human trafficking. Most girls are not outright kidnapped, at least not in the sense that they are taken from their homes in the dead of night. They are often promised a modeling job or simply selling vegetables to provide for their families, then locked up in a brothel until they die of AIDS.
What if they had job opportunities in their home villages? With a bridge out of poverty, the path to slavery is blocked.
Married to a Vision: Hasina Kharbhih
“A successful entrepreneur is married to a vision and cannot rest until ithas transformed all of society.” - Hasina Kharbhih
A young Indian woman who works Northern India, Hasina Kharbhih’s work involves issues like child trafficking, HIV/AIDS intervention, and sustainable livelihood. She first received recognition as a teenager when she was chosen as a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador for Positive Living. She was then selected as an Ashoka fellow because they want to help her in her efforts to spread the Meghalaya Model, an impressive and complete strategy to deal with child trafficking.
Her model is one of the most effective in all of Asia, and involves rescuing and restoring the lives of young girls caught in the web of human trafficking. She also rehabilitates them with job training and professional counseling.
Despite the world’s efforts to stop slavery in the late nineteenth century, it is today the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, with an estimated $32 billion in revenue yearly. In fact, there are more people enslaved today than in any other time of the world, according to Mary Burke, director of the Project to End Human Trafficking. They are trafficked to provide labor (domestic services, agricultural or sweatshop labor) or sexual services (street work, brothels, pornography, or massage parlors).
Throwing Back Starfish: Trina Talukdar
Are you familiar with the Hawaiian fable about the boy who, after a massive storm over the sea, threw starfish back into the ocean one by one? An older man ridiculed him for it, saying that no matter how many starfish he threw back, he couldn’t even make a dent in the amount washed up on the beach. He shrugged his shoulders and threw back another one. “It makes a difference to that one,” he replied.
Trina Talukdar is doing just that. She rescues girls from human trafficking and trains them in the careerof their choice. Just recently she rehabilitated a seven-year-old girl. (I know, we don’t want to hear it, we don’t want to know, we don’t want to imagine the tortures this little girl faced. But if it was your hometown that lost girl after girl to slavery, wouldn’t you want more people to know and stop this insanely lucrative crime from happening?) The girls paint, sing, attend concerts, visit museums, and are becoming women who will change the world. Trina aptly calls them her Revolutionaries.
Trina Talukdar and a few of her Revolutionaries
This battle is against women, and will be won by women. Have you ever thought that you would have been active in the Underground Railroad, had you been alive then? If so, you have now been introduced to a new form of slavery, and have the opportunity to stop it. You can be one of this generation’s Abolitionists. I wholeheartedly believe it can be stopped.
It's 9:34 pm, and I am editing a transcript for Hasina Kharbhih, warrior extraordinaire in the battle against human trafficking. I should have edited it a month ago, but I volunteered for too many things and subsequently got stuck in the land of procrastination.
But, now I am editing, and the report is covering how the media in the northeast region can help or hinder the fight against trafficking. I came across this line:
"Poverty is forcing the mother to send the child; the elder sister of that child was already married and settled. She has got only one daughter, who is studying. Ok, we're not looking at what is forcing that mother to do. She is getting about 800 rupees per month ($17 USD). There's a middleman who approaches and says, OK... I can get you more money if you will send the child to outside the state. The child said no..."
The child said no, and a mother's union prevented her from being taken. Legal action was taken because of Mothers in the villages who have had enough of their children being stolen, lured, trapped, raped, drugged, beaten, and killed. I have two very young children, and words fail to describe the pain my heart would suffer if one were subjected to any one of those things. Many of the mothers in these vulnerable areas hear that their daughters have been offered jobs in the city, and simply never hear from them again. They have no resources to find them.
Hasina's NGO, Impulse Network NGO rescues, rehabilitates, and restores the girls to their families (when possible). Trina Talukdar's Kranti functions similarly, and trains the girls in a vocation of their choosing and aptly calls them her Revolutionaries. I am beyond honored to know these women, and contribute to returning these children to their mothers. It's time for the Revolution.
In lingers in our hearts, it whispers in our thoughts, and it tugs at our consciences. It may a world changing idea, or a personal dream, like climbing Mount Everest or publishing a poem.
Whatever it is, don't ever brush it aside as being ridiculous, selfish, or unachievable.
Narrow down your vision. Find people that share the same interests, or who have already accomplished your dream, and mimic them (the sincerest form of flattery).
Then, act. Don't wait to have everything perfect, don't wait for approval or understanding from others. Just do it.
For example, when Paul and I dreamed of Lost World Imports, we only knew that we wanted to travel, wanted a fulfilling career, and wanted to help end poverty in third world countries. Literally, the first day we talked about it, we booked a ticket to India.
Because of that ticket - and the fact that it was non-refundable - we made contacts with people in Northern India. I joined a dozen fair trade and export groups on LinkedIn and sent email after email after email, because I knew we would need inventory quickly. I contacted a CBS reporter and an Atlanta Magazine columnist to show up at our gala, because I knew we would need media coverage to bring exposure to our brand. I signed up for a business mentor through my school, because if you don't know about something, learn from someone who does.
I am extremely passionate/obsessive about this venture. (I work until around 1 am, so, yes, obsessive.) I believe it will change the world. I have no fear of rejection because I know in my heart it will work.
Although this may not be as motivating to consider, it is just as important to know: you'll probably fail 50% of the time. That's just part of the process. You'll receive negative feedback, and sometimes your plans just won't work. That's where flexibility comes in. If the door closes, go in through the window! Or knock on the back door and see if somebody else answers. ;) I wrote a 5000 word report recently (for the woman I write for that combats human trafficking). She took about 1000 of the words and had to re-write the majority of the report herself because it wasn't exactly what she was looking for. I probably put in 40 hours writing that report, but instead of being crushed - like I would have been in the past - I have asked her to recommend some books I could read to help me become more knowledgeable in the area she needs. The hard part is continuing the momentum and not giving up.
Someone else told me that my business strategy was too much work with not enough payout. Obviously I ignored him.
What do you dream of? Who can you contact that will help you achieve your dream? What can you do today that will make it impossible to turn back? What will be your non-refundable ticket?
Southeast Asia is a hub for human trafficking. So often, young girls are lured by traffickers through promises of well paying jobs in the cities. If you have read Half theSky, by Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl Wudunn, you will already be aware of the horrors endured by women and girls caught in the web of modern day slavery, and if you don't know, read the book. It's easy to read but hard to handle.
I write for a woman that runs a non-profit in Northeastern India. The work I have done for her has changed me. It's overwhelming to realize that such brutality and twisted sexuality exists in the world. On the other hand, it is an impetus to keep working and making a difference in the world.
Poverty is the primary factor in human trafficking. Most girls are not outright kidnapped, at least not in the sense that they are taken from their homes in the dead of night. They are often promised a modeling job or simply selling vegetables to provide for their families, then locked up in a brothel until they die of AIDS.
What if they had other job opportunities? That's my motivation - to find artists (just for the sake of narrowing down our focus), employ them, and offer grants to other potential businessmen and women in their village.
With a bridge out of poverty, the path to slavery is blocked.
As most of you know through Facebook, Paul and I have started a fair trade fine arts company. Please visit our website at www.lostworldimports.com for more information! We are very excited about this. Our grand opening will be the first week of June, and we are traveling to India in late March to contract with some artists. Just thought I would share :)
