Story
Did you know 130 million girls remain out of school? Or that 1 in 3 girls will experience abuse in her lifetime? I'm fundraising for Vodafone Foundation to take a stand against gender inequality and #ShineALight for girls.
To achieve the ambitious combined target of £1 million, from Feb. 6th to 15th, I have travelled to Tanzania along with a number of colleagues where we took on the Epic Challenge of climbing 5895 metres to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Roof of Africa!!!
This has been the toughest challenge that I have undertaken, gone through five climate zones, forest, bushes, barren lands,rocks, lava ashes…pushed myself to the limit, both physically and mentally. But I’m so proud of myself that I have conquered this challenge no matter how much pain I have put myself through in training for the whole 2019 and in the 7 days' climbing!
Any support that you can offer towards my remaining personal target of €2000 will be gratefully received as every penny will go directly to making a difference for a cause close to my heart: improving lives and creating opportunities for girls across the world.
Every penny raised will go to the following charity partners:
#ShineALight on modern slavery and trafficking:
UNSEEN: An estimated five million children are in slavery worldwide, including in the UK. Unseen is a national charity with one mission: to end slavery. Many of the individuals they support are women and girls who have been exploited, for example by sexual exploitation or forced labour. The Girl Fund will help enable the charity's work supporting both survivors and potential victims of slavery. www.unseenuk.org
#ShineALight on displacement:
HELP REFUGEES: Over half of the 65 million people currently displaced from their homes due to conflict or natural disaster are women and girls, who are at increased risk from sexual abuse, gender based violence and early pregnancy. In 2017 Vodafone employees raised over £1 million through #ChooseLove to support Help Refugees. This year, the Foundation will continue this partnership with Europes largest grassroots distributor of refugee aid through the Girl Fund, to support displaced, asylum seeking
and refugee girls in the areas most affected by the crisis. www.helprefugees.org
#ShineALight on self-harm:
SHOUT TEXT HELPLINE: 25% of 14-year-old girls in the UK are reported to have self-harmed and many cite pressures over their appearance, sexuality and behaviour as the cause. Shout, the free text messaging helpline from Mental Health Innovations, offers immediate support to those experiencing such as mental health challenges from trained volunteers. Through the Girl Fund, we can help scale up this vital service to give more people the support they need to go from crisis to calm.www.giveusashout.org
#ShineALight on women in distress
The non-profit association FEMMES EN DERESESS was created in June 1979 in
Luxembourg. Its purpose was to create, develop and manage a home for women in distress, and to provide women and their children with effective protection from
male violence. The Fraenhaus shelter for women victims of domestic violence opened its doors in March 1980. The asserted will of the association to also contribute to “the improvement of the lives of women, by helping them to integrate into economic and social life, by guaranteeing them psychological, legal and social help. www.fed.lu