Not only that but if all girls were educated it would stop every 2 out of 3 forced child marriages. "Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death in young women aged 15-19. Young girls who marry later and delay pregnancy beyond their adolescence have more chances to stay healthier, to better their education and build a better life for themselves and their families," says Flavia Bustreo, M.D., Assistant Director-General for Family, Women’s, and Children's Health at the World Health Organization. When you Do It In A Dress you are literally changing lives.
One Girl has four programs, Scholarships, School Awesomisation, LaunchPad and Business Brains. School Awesomisation helps build schools and toilet facilities. In 2011, a teacher shared that a girl had to be rushed to hospital. The school had no toilet facilities so she had to do her business in the bushes. Whilst she was in the bushes a snake bit her. Before that incident, two boys passed away because they were also bitten. One Girl realized that something as simple as a toilet could help make schools safer. A lack of toilet facilities has been a major factor in girls missing school, particularly when they have their periods
help make schools safer. A lack of toilet facilities has been a major factor in girls missing school, particularly when they have their periods.
Next is project LaunchPad. In Sierra Leone, most women and young girls don’t have access to a hygienic way of managing their period. They often use materials like wearing five-pairs of underwear, kitchen sponges, old cloth and sometimes even tree bark to just manage their menstruation. There is also no access to a sanitary water source so washing is often done in open water source full of bacteria. Once the soiled cloth or underwear is washed it cannot be hung out to dry because of cultural taboos around menstruation. This means that they are forced to dry the materials indoors, in extremely humid environment. Because of this, materials don’t fully dry and women are forced to wear damp cloth which is a breeding ground for diseases. Because of the unhygienic nature of these methods, women will experience rashes, sores, and even bruising. That is where project LaunchPad steps in. They supply sanitary pads and lessons on how to use them to young girls and women in their communities. Without the use of sanitary pads girls could miss up to 12 weeks of school a year.