C'mon - Get That Hand Up!

I am always trying to learn more about the world I live in, and how I can find meaning and purpose enough to play an active part in shaping the future. Now more than ever I see the power of the Internet as a tool to help create social and global change. When I was growing up we didn't have YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or My Space. If we wanted to get involved in projects we had to get off our butts and join, or create, groups and clubs within our community.  

Today everything is different. If you go to www.becauseiamagirl.com.au  you can read inspiring stories of hope both locally and abroad. You can get involved with Plan directly, make a donation or organise your own event raising funds for girls internationally. And if you really want to know more, you can read the Because I Am a Girl report. While I am a firm believer that going to the library and doing research yourself is a great way to become knowledgeable about the world, having a website like this helps free up time up so we can directly get involved in causes we believe in.

This is why when people tell me one individual can’t make a difference, or that they are too busy, I am a little taken aback. Come on everyone! We are already online checking our Facebook or the next cool YouTube video, was can surely sign an online petition for global change?

Right now, if you go to www.becauseiamagirl.com.au you can “Raise Your Hand” to help break down the barriers to girl’s education and help the BIAAG campaign to reach one million worldwide.

One in every three girls around the world is denied an education because of the daily realities of poverty, discrimination and violence. By Raising your Hand, you will be calling upon the United Nations to make girls’ education a priority.

The United Nations has the power to stop girls from being forgotten at a time when developmental priorities for the next generation are being decided. Now we can work together to ensure millions more girls get the education they are entitled to.

www.becauseiamagirl.com.au

Inspirational? Well, that would be Malala

I can’t quite remember what I did for my 16^th birthday?  I do, however, feel that whatever it was, it was nowhere near as inspiring as what Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai did for hers this year. 

Malala made headlines last year when the Taliban tried to assassinate her as she rode the bus to school, in Pakistan. She was targeted because of her fight for the right of all girls to an education.  To celebrate her birthday this year she delivered a passionate speech to the United Nations General Assembly calling on world leaders and governments to ensure free and compulsory education globally for every child, and to support the expansion of education opportunities for girls in the developing world.

There are still 57 million children out of primary school worldwide. Many live in countries embroiled in conflict. More than 120 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 lack basic reading and writing skills, and the majority of them are young women. In short, too many young people leave school without the skills to earn a living.

Education is crucial, it is the most effective method of challenging poverty and harmful traditions such as gender-based discrimination and violence. Gender equality in education is a vital and important issue because providing education for girls helps to establish well-balanced communities and nations.

 "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world," said Nelson Mandela, and educating girls guaranties education for generations.

Malala firmly believes that we can work together to make a better future through education for all. She is an example to modern societies, where education has lost its essence and is neglected by teens. Malala's efforts remind us that education is the way to save lives, to build peace and to empower people to build a better world.

Happy Birthday, Malala.