So, what is “Chicks Against Child Brides” all about?
The “Chick” Part :
We are an all female run business who value opportunities to promote other females who are making a difference in their communities and in their own lives. Inspired and motivated by the idea of helping young impoverished girls specifically, we sought out to connect with an organization whose mission we can really stand behind. BRAC‘s ELA program is dedicated to empowering poor young women. They believing that with the right tools, women can play a crucial role in bringing about changes within their families and their communities. We support this approach of empowerment – helping women to help themselves.
The “Child Bride” Part :
FACT - One girl in seven in developing countries marries before age 15. (1)
FACT – 38 % of girls in developing countries marry before age 18. (2)
As the largest implementer of the Girl Effect programs, BRAC has seen evidence of the value that adolescent girls bring to the table when they are given access to education, livelihood training, financial literacy training and life skills development.
FACT – When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children. (3)
FACT – When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 % of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 % for a man. (4)
The Helping Part:
BRAC’s Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) program has improved the lives of over 25,000 young women in Bangladesh, Tanzania and Uganda to date. ELA promotes co-curricular activities and life skills training for girls ages 13-22 that are crucial for the comprehensive development of youth. ELA members who are 16 and older are given the opportunity to chose an area of specialization – agriculture, poultry, tailoring, hairdressing, or trading. BRAC provides them with financial literacy training, including saving, budgeting, negotiating, basic accounting and customer care. Following this training, microloans are provided for those girls ready to start a business.
And finally, here’s where YOU come in…
$5 from every catherinenicole.com sale supports our joint efforts with BRAC to prevent young girls from becoming child brides. Your support gives impoverished girls access to microloans to start their own businesses, giving them the tools to bring change to their communities and to themselves. You can also provide words of encouragement by sending a letter or email to our Letters for Young Leaders campaign.
(1) Population Council, “Transitions to Adulthood: Child Marriage/Married Adolescents,” www.popcouncil.org/ta/mar.html [updated May 13, 2008].
(2) Cynthia B. Lloyd, ed., Growing Up Global: The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing Countries [Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2005].
(3) United Nations Population Fund, State of World Population 1990.
(4) Chris Fortson, “Women’s Rights Vital for Developing World,” Yale News Daily 2003.