Resources / Ripples & Wipeouts

I first saw The Girl Effect video last week (see the bottom of this post to watch the video yourself).  I watched it three times in a row.  In essence, that video explains that if you invest in a girl, she in turn will help herself, then her family, then her community.  If girls across the globe had more support, they could have a monumental impact on their local communities, their countries, and therefore, the global community.  Quite simply, the world would be a different place.

I am 24 years old.  I have lived a privileged life.  Education was never a question, the pantry in my house was always stocked, and I grew up knowing that I could be anything I wanted in life, whether that was an astronaut, a veterinarian, or the President of the United States.  I never once doubted that I had a fundamental right and capacity to do the exact same things as boys, and I have held onto that belief throughout my life. 

So, when I see videos like The Girl Effect and read statistics like “70 percent of the world’s 130 million out-of-school youth are girls,” my mind spins.  Sure, there were some days when I didn’t want to get out of bed, didn’t want to do my homework, but for the most part, school was fun.  I like learning, I enjoyed being around people my age, and plus, there were perks like recess and the promise of cupcakes whenever a classmate had a birthday.  What would my life have been if I hadn’t gone to school?  What on earth would I have done all day?  How would I have made friends? 

I can’t begin to fathom an answer to those questions.  All I can say is that it is simply unacceptable that girls everywhere don’t get access to the same opportunities most girls in the United States enjoy.  What are the solutions to the lack of opportunities available to girls throughout much of the world?  That’s a tough one, and I don’t claim to have the answers.  But, here is a little food for thought.

Microfinance is helping girls establish a level of independence by offering loans as small as $25 USD so that girls can start their own businesses, be it through investing in a dairy cow or purchasing the necessary materials to run a small retail business.  You can loan directly to individuals through websites like Kiva, a person-to-person micro-lending website.

Or, you could make a gift to an organization like Finca, whose mission is “to provide financial services to the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living.” Finca primarily offers its microloans to women.

It seems to me that big sweeping changes need to take place so that all girls have access to education.  But, the fact of the matter is, that big sweeping changes take a long time to put into effect.  In the meantime, maybe microfinance is a good option for promoting entrepreneurship and creating opportunity for all the girls in the world.

The Girl Effect was produced with help of the Nike Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.  To learn more facts about girls around the world, visit The Girl Effect website.

--AMI