Newsletter – 1st edition

 

 

 

 

Why girls?

Glad you asked, it’s a great question! UN Exec Director for women Michelle Bachelet says, “When women are healthy and educated the benefits extend to their children, communities and nations. Poverty and malnutrition decline, living standards improve and economic growth increases”.

I read a blurb recently by the awareness campaign ‘The Girl Effect’…they said, “We did some research. Had we found that the solution to poverty was rubber bands, we would be promoting rubber bands. Instead, we found that it was a girl”.

Click here to see their amazing clip on The Girl Effect and why educating girls is so powerful.

In many parts of the Pacific, education is not valued and especially not for girls. We are working to change this! In Fiji, the facts and figures tell us that literacy is high and most children go to school. We serve the ones that slip through the cracks, don’t stay at school and are set up to perpetuate cycles of poverty, especially in rural areas.

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Christmas Appeal

Our Christmas appeal was a delicious success with results exceeding our expectations! We raised enough money to provide 2 bee boxes and support a number of girls for 1 yr – great outcome!

We value every contribution to a Girl & her world no matter how big or small, or whether it’s money, time, skill, sharing a link to our blog on Facebook or retweeting us on TwitterThank you!Drop us a line, we’d love to hear how what we are doing together resonates with you,

Much love and gratitude,

Jane and the ‘a Girl & her world’ team

 

Welcome to our first newsletter!

Since our beginnings in October last year, we have been able to get started on making some great connections with people in the Pacific who are passionate about creating ways for girls to go to school and stay in school.

We are humbled by those who have partnered with us with their time, skill and resource and are excited about the journey!

Here is an update of where your generosity has helped us go…

A few weeks ago in RakiRaki Fiji, we sent a group of happy girls off to school with their new bags, uniforms and books and are watching their progress with interest. Mostly it has been wet! Floods have ravaged the township which has meant limited access to transport, services and schools. So the girls have only just had one full week of school! Their homes are intact but many of their belongings have been destroyed and everything is soggy as the rain continues on and off.

Sadly this is a reality and a constant challenge to girls completing their education in the Pacific as they become caught up in a cycle. Weather takes its toll – often employment opportunities are limited as a result – resources are depleted – girls need to stay home to help out – school attendance is sporadic as just surviving takes precedence.

We are working with community groups and local schools to support families caught up in this cycle.  After a phone conference with a school principal recently, it was a privilege to receive the following email “You are now part of our school family and we welcome you into our community as we work together to assist girls and families living in poverty”

To read more about the ‘why behind the what’ and our story…click through to our website here.

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Sponsor schools

We are currently talking with 2 Sydney schools about the possibility of becoming a Girl & her world sponsor schools, which is very exciting! One student has also approached us about spending some time in Fiji volunteering with the families and schools we are supporitng. We are looking at setting up ‘pen-pal’ friendships (girls here may need educating on the art of an actual handwritten letter!) and creating awareness amongst Aussie kids on the value of education. We can see potential for the schools here to support the schools in the Pacific Islands in various ways such as; classes supporting a girl for a year or mufti-day gold coin donations going towards home economics kits and uniforms for the girls we support, for example.

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Why honey?

Click here to find out more about our income generating projectslike a box of bees that produces honey that mums and dads can sell locally. We buy boxes of bees from a local provider and set people up with all they need to harvest honey every 3 months. The amount they receive for each kilo they produce is comparable to a day’s wage! We are also trialling veggie gardens and chickens as projects for families to have on the go, to see if they are viable for income generation*|FACEBOOK:LIKE|*


 

Where does your money go?

With lots of talk of high admin costs and your money just trickling down to the actual need, we wanted to let you know that our books are open.

We will prepare our first tax return this end of financial year, and will also be independently audited. You are welcome to see these documents.

100% of the money you donate to income generating projects goes to income generating projects. 100% of the money you donate to support girls education goes to their education and covers their fees, uniforms, bags, books, stationery and other costs such as travel and internet usage.

Our other running costs are largely covered probono (thank you!) or by people donating specifically to cover these costs.

If you want to know more, please just ask…we are happy to answer.


 

New Website

We have a new website!  Head over there now to have a look around.  Thank you to Sarah at Castle Design!


Coming Up

Three of our team members  Jane, Kym and Joanna, are heading to Fiji in March. We plan to hold focus groups with teachers, parents and girls around the best ways we can support them with their own solutions for getting girls to school and keeping them there. We will also be checking the progress of our income generating bee boxes and other projects on the go.

Also, we are meeting with some amazing people from Bougainville (tiny island off the coast of PNG) in March to hear their story and talk through some potential opportunities to partner with them as they find ways through the barriers to educating girls…

We will update you with a newsletter every 3 months, however we are always happy to talk with you about anything else you’d like to know…email us!

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