dailyeducationupdate

dailyeducationupdate

Sunday 2 December 2012

The Difference A Person Can Make To Empower Girls In Less Developed Countries


There are very few people in this world who go out of their way to help people in need. We are yet to realize  that the “power of one” is not just a mere saying because one person can actually make a huge difference. There are so many people in this world, children, women and the elderly who need help. All they ask for is a helping hand and all we need to do is reach out.

Philanthropists all over the world work towards the betterment of societies in need. They work for the greater good. There are charities which help the needy worldwide, many celebrities help with raising money for various causes but seldom do we find regular people, the ordinary man, involving themselves in selfless acts like helping out the poor, not just monetarily but also by providing them with a good education and helping them out of exploitation.

The lack of education for the girl child is something that should receive a great deal of attention. Katie Meyler, age 30, a woman from Bernardsville is a living example of how a ‘common person’, with the help of a few genuinely interested people, can make a huge difference.

The Power of One

Meyler, who had a disturbed past and troubled childhood, now runs her own non-profit organisation, “The More than Me Foundation” with the commitment to educate and empower young girls in Liberia who are at risk of being sexually exploited. Meyler’s work has been appreciated by many. She has been called:
The most passionate person we’ve ever met”- Bono’s ONE Foundation.
Social Media Role-Model”- at a UN sponsored Mashable event.
Outstanding Woman of the Year”- N.J. Commission on the Status of Women.

When she was in the senior year of high school, Meyler got the chance of going to Haiti. She learned how to raise money, so that she could sponsor her trip. On Haiti, Meyler said:
In Haiti, I was meeting people who didn't have clean drinking water, and who were sleeping in their cars to stay warm. I found out I wasn't really poor, and I became obsessed with people in poor countries.”

Her hard work paid off as she won a service scholarship award from the former US president, Bill Clinton. This helped her attend college. In 2006, when she was working for a relief agency, she decided to visit Liberia, West Africa, to help out the people there. About her choice of country, Meyler said:
No one chooses Liberia, Liberia chooses you. I got there after a brutal revolution, with one in three women getting raped.”

In Liberia

When she was in the distressed country she found a lot about their state, especially the state of young girls. She said that the girls their wanted only one thing:
They would answer by saying ‘I just want to go to school, I want an education, that’s what I want more than anything.’”

She put her heart and soul into working for the benefit of young girls in Liberia. She started by getting them into school first. Currently, her objective is to build a lot of school so that she can help empower girls with education. Now, Meyler has the opportunity to win a million dollars with which she will help develop the state of girls in Liberia. She is now trying to win the American Giving Awards competition and is seeking everyone’s help to reach her aim.

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