Last year my daughter Madeleine and I, and a great group of other
Moms & daughters, started the Markham Women's 5K & Girls' 1K.
Why? We were talking about the challenges girls in other parts of
the world face when trying to get an education and were intrigued
by a new program at Plan Canada called "Because I am a Girl".
This movement is a global campaign to claim a brighter, safer future for
girls around the world. The premise is simple - the more girls we can
educate, the more countries we can lift out of poverty. We couldn't agree
more.
In our first year, we raised $20,000 to help build a girls school residence in Tanzania. Unfortunately only 5% of all girls in Tanzania have the opportunity to go to high school, mainly because it is too dangerous for them to travel the distance required to get there. With the construction of the residence, 100 girls will have the opportunity they deserve - to gain the knowledge and experience they need to make a positive impact in their own lives and the lives of so many others.
This past September Madeleine and I travelled to Tanzania to visit with these girls see the construction of our school residence. We wrote a blog while we were there if you want to read about it in detail (ourtanzanianadventure.blogspot.com) but suffice it to say we had a life-changing trip and learned about the very real, and often scary, situations and conditions these girls have to deal with. We felt truly honoured to meet them and were most inspired by them and their will to be all they can.
This year there will be a new project under
the "Because I am a Girl" campaign that we will support an elementary
school in Rwanda with a Girls Club and girl-friendly attributes. Please
take some time to visit www.plancanada.ca
to learn more about the "Because I am a Girl" campaign. Thank
you for your support!
Sara Sterling, Race Director
sara@raceworks.ca
905-887-0766
