By Cynthia Kersey
Founder, Unstoppable Foundation
Marina Del Rey, CA
According to Nike’s “The Girl Effect”, INVESTING IN GIRLS HAS THE HIGHEST UNTAPPED RETURN IN DEVELOPMENT. IT’S AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
Here’s an excerpt from this valuable resource about “Why Girls?”
“She’s the economic backbone of her family: the chore doer, the caretaker, the insurance policy. She’ll be the mother oft the next generation. She will reinvest 90 percent of her income into her family, generating a powerful ripple effect. Her brother? Thirty to forty percent.”
“When she’s educated through secondary school, she’ll bring 25% more income into her family. When she’s healthy, her community’s health will improve as maternal mortality and child malnutrition drop, and HIV rates decline. She will drive 70% of agricultural production. She is an unrealized economic force, accelerating growth and progress in every sector.”
“Exclude her and the world misses out on an enormous opportunity. Kenya would gain $27 billion in potential income per generation if its female secondary- school dropouts continued their education. Brazil forgoes an average of $17.3 billion per year as a result of girls’ joblessness. India sacrifices a potential of $100 billion over a lifetime due to adolescent pregnancy.”
“The girl effect is about boys too, because when a girl benefits, everyone benefits: her brothers, sisters, future children and grand- children. Boys and men have a critical role in unleashing girls’ ripple effect, as they often control the environment for girls and have a strong influence over what happens.”
“Boys and men must be part of the solution: breaking the cycle of poverty and building a sustainable global economy cannot happen if 50 percent of the world’s population is left behind.”
Together with our partners, donors and other wonderful organizations working toward a similar goal, we can eradicate extreme poverty and it starts by educating our children and making it available to every child – especially girls.
I hope you’ll join us in this important mission. Six hundred million adolescent girls in developing countries are ready to change the world. We have the power to help them do it.
Educate a child today.
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The Unstoppable Foundation is currently WSA’s charity of choice, tithing a percentage of every membership to help build schools for young girls in Africa. The Unstoppable Foundation is committed to giving voice to these young girls, a mission very much aligned with WSA. WSA will be sponsoring a table at this year’s Unstoppable Gala in Los Angeles, CA on May 16th. CLICK HERE to reserve your ticket and BE A GUEST AT WSA’s TABLE.