Because I am a Girl

The Cause:

Health and girls' rights

The Facts:

• In Tanzania, giving birth to a child is a risky adventure. 454 mothers die during childbirth for every 100,000 live babies that are born.
• Death related to childbirth accounts for almost 20% of all deaths among women aged 15 to 49.
• But it's not just moms that are dying - it's also their children. 51 babies less than one year old die for every 1,000 that are born and 81 children under five die for every 1,000 that are born.
• Being a young mom puts both the mom and her baby at risk. Babies born to girls in their teens are 50% more likely to die before their first birthday than babies born to moms in their twenties.

The Project:

Plan works with the whole community to prevent deaths among moms, newborns and children. The organization brings together community members and clinic and government health workers to make sure that moms get the health care they need before, during and after giving birth.

The cause:

Girls' Rights and Child Participation

The project:

Girls need a voice! Plan supports girls

The cause:

Girls' Rights and Child Participation

The facts:

• Even though Togo has signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, most of the country

The cause:

Girls' Rights and Education

The facts:

• 67% of girls and 76% of boys regularly attend primarily school.
• Only 33% of girls attend secondary school compared to 39% of boys.
• Only 60% of girls ages 15 to 24 know how to read and write, compared to 80% of boys in the same age group.
• 16% of girls in Pakistan between ages 15 and 19 are married.

The project:

To improve school attendance and provide alternative education where needed, Plan supported a project to improve education in Pakistan.

The details:

The main goal of this project is getting girls who have dropped out, or who have never had the chance to attend school, into the classroom. Parents concerned about the safety of their children are often reluctant to send girls to school if the girls must travel far from home to attend. When there is no school available in the community, the only option is to send girls to a different town or keep them home.

The cause:

Child Protection

The facts:

• 70% of children in China experience minor or serious abuse in their families.
• Worldwide, 40 million children are abused each year.
• 3% to 29% of all boys, and 7% to 36% of all girls have been sexually abused.
• Abuse is experienced by children at home, at school, at work and in the community.

The project:

Children have the right to live their lives free from violence. Rights

In order to improve access and quality of education, this project aims to improve formal and informal education for women in the community. The project has implemented School Improvement Programmes (SIPs), which provide or improve basic facilities and resources (ex. textbooks) in government schools. The informal education aspect of the project focuses on alternative options for girls and women unable to attend government schooling. Adult literacy programs were created for illiterate women, with a focus on elderly women, in the community. Pre-school programmes are provided for children ages 3-5 in the community, as well as literacy centres and education programs for children, especially young girls, who are not enrolled in government schools.

Personal stories: Zahida is a twenty-eight year old mother who is a member of a Plan Partner community in Patalian, Pakistan. She has two brothers and four sisters. Because her family did not have much money when she was growing up, it was not possible for Zahida and her siblings to continue studying past Grade 5. She stayed at home doing embroidery and gardening during her adolescent years and lapsed into illiteracy.

The goal of this project is to contribute to lowering the number of trafficked women in the Philippines. This is achieved through raising community awareness, and campaigning about the dangers of trafficking. Young girls in the communities are learning about anti-trafficking laws, and about the importance of gender and child protection. The project also provides services for the recovery of survivors of trafficking. These services include group and individual counselling and support, education, and participation in games and cultural events.

Personal stories:

The cause:

Girls' Rights and Education

The project:

Plan Brazil, in partnership with local government, started a soccer program for 200 girls between ages 10 and 18. The program wasn't just about winning the championship - it was also about girls' rights and equality.

The details:

The soccer fields in the Codo region of Brazil were strictly "no girls allowed." Community perceptions were pretty clear - soccer was a men's sport. Traditionally in Codo, women were seen as fragile, lacking in capabilities and inferior to men.

At the same time the community noticed a huge problem for youth: their region had the lowest school enrolment rate in Brazil. But what does soccer have to do with it?

Each of the girls

The cause:

Girls' Rights and Education

The facts:

• In Liberia, 20% of girls ages 15 to 24 don't know how to read or write.
• Only 66% of girls are enrolled in elementary school compared to 85% of boys.
• Even though 66% of girls are enrolled in school, only 39% attend regularly.
• During Liberia's 14-year civil war that ended in 2003, many children never attended school and the education system is still recovering.

The project:

The F-Sham Girls Academy in Liberia is attended by more than 500 students but it badly needed a makeover to make sure girls' rights to education were being fulfilled. Plan stepped in to give the Academy the overhaul it needed and help girls stay in school.

The details:

Making sure that girls stay in school is about more than just building a school facility. Quality education for girls requires community participation, teacher sensitivity, clean water, separate girls-only bathrooms and classroom facilities.

The cause:

Child Protection, Girls' Rights and Poverty

The facts:

• 38% of girls in Nepal are involved in child labour.
• Only 35% of children in Nepal are officially registered at birth.
• A large percentage of girls in Nepal's entertainment sector are under 18.
• More than 700 cabin restaurants employ over 30,000 women in Kathmandu.

The project:

Nepal