International Day of the Girl on October 11

This is a Sponsored Post

As International Day of the Girl on October 11 approaches, Plan International USA  is sharing stories about girls around the world participating in our Because I am a Girl programs. Learn more about International Day of the Girl and how you can help give girls access to the tools they need to live a better life today.

After emerging from a ravaging civil war marked by horrific cases of violence, rape, and human rights violations, development indicators listed Sierra Leone as one of the worst places in the world both socially and economically. Although the country has since achieved relative national stability, violence against girls has become so ingrained that, for many girls, it’s a way of life. Until now.

Supported by the Because I am a Girl program, Plan International’s Girl Power project works with the government in Sierra Leone to protect girls from falling through the cracks in a country rocked by violence, laying the groundwork necessary for them to become strong leaders in the community.

Programs are in place to give girls essential financial literacy abilities, teach valuable leadership skills, and to support groups to protect girls from child marriage and early pregnancy, which swiftly limits their future opportunities.

Through Girl Power, girls and young women in Sierra Leone can now take control of their own futures and truly ignite change in their families and communities. And for young girls, an opportunity is all they need.