Plan Canada - Because I am a Girl project

Recently I started sponsoring the Because I am a Girl project from Plan Canada. A few years ago I had been sponsoring a child through them, but after not working for a couple of years I stopped. Now that I'm working one day a week I figured I could help again.

The $25 a month that I give will be matched to $100 by Plans partners. So the effects are multiplied by three. And they will issue a tax receipt which will benefit you as well (so everyone is happy).

This is from their website:

Because I am a Girl: the big picture.

Girls represent half of the world’s population, but they account for over 60% of the world’s hungry people. In the poorest regions of the world, they are amongst the most disadvantaged people on the planet, yet they are the key to breaking the cycle of poverty for everyone.

Being Poor

Being poor means more than not having any money. It can mean not having enough to eat or a roof over your head, being in poor health, and having little or no education. It can mean feeling powerless to change your life, and not being able to control what happens to you.

Effects on Girls

Girls and women are particularly affected by poverty. This is partly because they have less power to fight it, less access to the means to overcome it, or their entire families are suffering in poverty. Being born underweight, given little or poor-quality food and having little or no education can prevent girls from developing properly. Poverty can also force girls to work or get married at young age instead of going to school.

Causes of Poverty

The underlying reasons for poverty can include war or armed conflict, natural disasters, population growth, debt, poor government planning, limited job opportunities, as well as inequalities linked to race, gender, age or disability. Poverty is at the root of most problems facing girls today - even issues that at first glance may seem to have nothing to do with it, like HIV and AIDS, violence, or disability, are often related to poverty.

Basic rights are denied to millions of girls in the developing world, just because they are girls. They are denied the right to basic necessities like clean water, healthcare, education, and the right to decide their own futures.

This is the reason we focus on empowering girls in developing countries.

I think this or any other Plan Canada project is worthwhile. For only as little as a dollar a day you can make a significant difference in someone's life. I don't think it's too much to ask so please consider it.