Girls are strong, courageous and have the potential to achieve great things. Unfortunately, many girls still face seemingly insurmountable obstacles on the way to realizing this potential. As International Day of the Girl Child, October 11th is intended to draw attention to grievances and the systematic discrimination of girls.
Some girls have to cope with more than others - domestic violence, poverty, denied access to education and oppression are part of everyday life for too many girls worldwide. For some of them, running away seems to be the only way to a better, self-determined life. The "Girls on the Move" report by Save the Children, which was published this week, deals with precisely this issue - with frightening but also encouraging results. For the report, 104 girls in various countries aged between 7 and 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. To achieve this, they have left their homes and some have left their families behind - with an uncertain future. But fleeing is particularly dangerous for girls, especially when they are traveling without their families. But despite the adverse circumstances and serious human rights violations, the Save the Children report also shows how determined these girls and women are to change their lives for the better.
Take 14-year-old Naw Si from Myanmar, for example, who fled to Thailand due to severe poverty. "The best thing about my life in Thailand is that I have the chance to learn and study here," explains Naw Si. She wants to become a doctor later on.
(Naw Si, 14 from Myanmar now lives in Thailand - You can read her and other stories here. here here)
Their stories show only a fraction of the fates of girls on the run. In 2019, around 18 million girls under the age of 19 were on the run in the hope of a self-determined future - and the numbers are rising.
Save the Children helps girls like New Si worldwide. The children's rights organization offers protection to girls on the run 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. They can be children again for a moment. This is also the case in Switzerland - where the special needs of girls are also catered for in the child and youth-friendly spaces. You can find more information about this here.
As the Stadtlandkind family, it is very important to us to support such projects and enable girls to realize their full potential.
That is why, for example, we are part of the "Pippi of Today" initiative from Save the Children. You too can stand up for the strongest girls in the world: by purchasing the charity braceletin our online store, you are supporting girls on the run through Save the Children's projects.
