The Girl Effect ... on the World!

Changing the World Through Girls

I rarely open email messages that recommend YouTube videos but fortunately I took a look at two Youtubes forwarded by a friend.  Please check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvmE4_KMNw and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vq2mfF8puE 

These messages tell the stories of girls around the globe and explain better than anything else I've seen why improving the situation of girls can and will change the world.

Here's to NIKE!

The videos are produced by the Nike Foundation partnering with an exceptional list of nonprofits: Novo Foundation, UN Foundation, International Center for Research on Women, Population Council, Center for Global Development, Plan, BRAC.

If you go to the web site that accompanies the videos (www.girleffect.org), you will learn from the fact sheet critical information about girls and how the girl effect impacts our world.

Girls Are Deprived

Most of us know girls are deprived relative to boys, but here are some amazing statistics.

"Approximately one-quarter of girls in developing countries are not in school."

"One girl in seven in developing countries marries before age 15."

"One quarter to one half of girls in developing countries become mothers before age 18 versus only 16 percent of their educated counterparts."

"75 percent of 15-24 year olds living with HIV in Africa are female, up from 62 percent in 2001."

Yet, Girls Are Change Agents

The key qauestion heading the fact sheet, however, is -- "Why should we pay attention to girls?"  The reason is what is referred to as the Ripple Effect.  When the lives of girls are improved, the effect ripples out to the community, and, eventually, the nation and the globe.  Again, from the fact sheet:

"When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children."

"An extra year of  primary school boosts girls' eventual wages by 10 to 20 percent."

"When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man."

This Blog's Message

My message here is not a feminist message about girls being deprived vis-a-vis boys.  That's true BUT... the real message is that if we continue to ignore girls, we are damaging not just female individuals but our villages, towns, cities, states and world.

Again, check out the Girl Effect on Youtube.  And thank you, Nike.  Yes, go buy their shoes.