World Girls' Day: Joining forces for girls who need to be especially strong

Girls are strong, courageous and have the potential to achieve great things. Unfortunately, many girls still face seemingly insurmountable obstacles on their way to realizing this potential. As the International Day of the Girl, October 11 is intended to draw attention to grievances and the systematic discrimination of girls.

Some girls have to cope more than others - domestic violence, poverty, denied access to education, and oppression is everyday life for too many girls around the world. For some of them, escape seems the only way to a better, more self-determined life. The "Girls on the Move" report by Save the Children, which was published this week, deals with exactly this topic - with frightening but also encouraging results. For the report, 104 girls in different countries, aged 7 to 23, were interviewed about their motivations and experiences on the run.

They all want a better life - without poverty, without domestic violence, out of conflict areas, without political or other forms of oppression and better opportunities for education and work. For this they have left their homes, some even their families behind - with an uncertain future. But fleeing holds special dangers for girls, especially when they travel without their families. But despite the adverse circumstances and serious human rights violations, Save the Children's report also shows how determined these girls and women are to turn their lives around for the better.

For example, 14-year-old Naw Si from Myanmar, who fled to Thailand because of severe poverty. "The best thing about my life in Thailand is that I have the chance to learn and study here," Naw Si explains. She wants to become a doctor later.

(Naw Si, 14 from Myanmar now lives in Thailand - you can read her story and more here.)

Their stories show only a fraction of the fate of girls on the run. That's because some 18 million girls under the age of 19 were on the run in 2019, hoping for a self-determined future - and the numbers are rising.

Save the Children is helping girls like New Si around the world. The child rights organization offers girls on the run protection and supports them in coming to terms with their traumatic experiences. For example, by providing safe retreats, some of which are exclusively for girls. Thanks to such spaces, they can process what they have experienced and receive psychosocial support. For a moment, they can be children again. This is also the case in Switzerland - where child- and youth-friendly spaces also cater to the special needs of girls. You can find more information here.

It is very close to our hearts as a Stadtlandkind family to support such projects and thus enable girls to realize their full potential.

That's why, for example, we are part of Save the Children's "Pippi of Today" initiative. Make yourself strong for the strongest girls in the world: With the purchase of the charity bracelet in our online store, you support girls on the run through the projects of Save the Children.