March 8th is International Women's Day.  On this day, we celebrate the achievements of women globally. 

For 12 years, we have been helping to educate girls. We strategically have impacted the destinies of hundreds of young girls, helping them complete their basic schooling.  

Thomasia is one of the girls that you have helped support.  We started helping her when she was in class 6 (6th grade) and we are delighted to share that she will be graduating from high school this year.  She hopes to start college in the fall of 2018 to study Journalism.    

Please take a minute to watch the video about Thomasia, pictured. as we share her story and she expresses her heartfelt gratitude. She has a bright future ahead of her.

Together we are promoting gender equality and empowering women. In the 2018-2021 Gender Action Plan, the UNICEF states:

Gender Action Plan 2018–2021 articulates two themes to make the integration of gender within programmatic results more tangible and actionable. These themes are central to UNICEF work and reflect the gender-related priorities of many of the countries and regions where UNICEF works. 

The first theme focuses on equality between girls and boys-

Four demonstration results are highlighted: (a) Gender-equitable health care and nutrition for girls and boys; (b) Gender equality in access, retention and learning for girls and boys; (c) Gender-based prevention of and response to violence against girls and boys; (d) Non-gender-discriminatory roles, expectations, and practices for girls and boys.

The second theme focuses on gender equality in care and support for children-

Four demonstration results are highlighted: (a) Quality maternal care; (b) Gender equality in community health systems; (c) Gender equality in teaching and education systems; (d) Gender-responsive WASH systems. 

There is a strong need for on-going intervention in this area. YOUR support will help ensure that girls, like Thomasia, have on-going access to opportunities - and do not drop out of school.  We are empowering them together and we are so excited about the future of these girls and also the future of Sierra Leone.  

As we celebrate Thomasia's progress and that of women globally, we invite you to to take action today - helping to ensure many more girls have access to equal educational opportunities and a brighter future.