Blog
"I was reminded that in this large world we can still all connect and work on the same goals together."
Being a Part of the Girl Fund
By Narmada Morris, Donor Outreach Coordinator
May 29, 2019
Reading Time: 4 minutes
I still struggle with the concept of feeling like an equal in this world. I reflect on my own childhood and the inherent expectations of what a girl should or shouldn’t do. I was a rebel, constantly trying to do everything the boys did, just to prove the point of “anything you can do, I can do too” so naturally, my career path has led me to be inclined to remind other girls of the same goal I myself continue to try to achieve. I never want a young girl to feel that she has to assume a gender role passed down to her by previous generations with little to no foundation in today’s world.
When I woke up early to hop on a call with other organizations who had also won a spot in the Global Giving Girl Fund, I was reminded of why I chose this path. Here I was talking with people in Kenya, Nigeria, Nicaragua, and the United States, all of us with the sole purpose of telling young women and girls, “you can do whatever you want to do with your life”. We all want these girls to go to school and not only succeed but redefine cultural norms on a global scale. As the six of us in four different time zones chose two other groups to join us in the Girl Fund, we had one common objective – to make an impact with the group of girls we are working with that will years from now will redefine our world.
The largest challenge but also the most intriguing aspect of working with these different groups is defining gender equality. While we all support young women and girls, we also work in different countries and each respective country has a different concept of the equality they strive for. For some it is ensuring that a girl can take computer classes, others ensuring a girl can walk home from her classes without the fear of being hurt, or another avoiding being married before she is 18. Every girl has a different challenge, but all with the same goal, to be seen as a valuable part of their society.
As I work in Denver, I think of my own struggles of fighting to be seen and although my challenges differ, I can see a bit of myself in each girl that each organization wants to serve, and my desire to close the gap and provide support increases. I admire each individual on the call for deciding that this is an urgent issue that can no longer be put on the back burner, the time is now. So here we all were at all different hours, deciding we all cared enough to try and that the small areas we worked in matter just as much as anywhere else.
As we all signed off we expressed our gratitude to meet each other on this unique platform, all of us laughing and enjoying the camaraderie. I was reminded that in this large world we can still all connect and work on the same goals together. I went into work thinking of the girls we strive to support, more eager than ever to see them thrive.
The GlobalGiving Girl Fund supports highly effective GlobalGiving projects providing education, legal protection, health care, and access to training and job skills so that girls can thrive – making a difference in their lives and their communities. Shadhika is a winner of the 2019 GlobalGiving Girl Fund. To learn more, visit GlobalGiving’s website.
Read more