To avoid any confusion I am not a girl.  Because I Am a Girl is a program of Plan Canada that is trying to raise the quality of life for girls in the developing world.   My friend Gina introduced me to this program.  I was amazed at what happens when you give a girl a chance.

Men hold almost all the power in the developing world.  This means that girls and women have fewer choices.  The latest issue of National Geographic pointed out that in some places women spend hours each day collecting water.  In some cultures women who let men carry water are regarded as lazy.  This leads mothers to leave their 4 year olds in charge of their younger siblings so their mother can fetch drinking water.  Some parents around here won’t even let their 10 year olds walk home from school.   So what really is the price of water in a society?

One of the keys to helping the developing world is breaking the cycle that prevents women from unleashing their true value in society.  Women are more than baby factories.

What happens when a girl gets a chance?

• When a girl in lhe developing world recieves seven more years of education, she marries four years later, and has 2.2 fewer children
• Educated girls grow into educated women, who – research shows – have healthier babies and are more likely to educate their children.
• An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ future wages by 10 to 20 percent.
• An extra year of secondary school boosts girls’ future wages by 15 to 25 percent.
• When girls and women earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man.

… and what happens when she doesn’t.

• 70 percent of the world’s 130 million out-of-school youth are girls.
• One girl in seven in developing countries marries before age 15; 38 percent marry before age 18.
• One-quarter to one-half of girls in developing countries become mothers before age 18.
• Pregnancy is the leading cause of death among girls ages 15 to 19 worldwide.
• Seventy-five percent of HIV-infected youth in Africa are girls.

I am a father of two girls.  I’m glad my girls live in a society where they are valued as a human and not just a woman.  Girls need a chance to grow up to contribute more of their brain power to society rather than their physical power.  Let’s let girls be girls.