Since 2004, the Nike Foundation, a non-profit organization supported by Nike, Inc., has been dedicated to exclusively investing in programs to benefit adolescent girls in the developing world. The NoVo Foundation has recently come on board to invest $100 million with the Nike Foundation in “the girl effect” initiative – the ability of adolescent girls to bring about powerful social and economic change when given the opportunity to participate in their society.
In today’s developing countries, a girl is at a crossroads when she reaches adolescence. It is then when her days turn to caring for her family members and doing chores for her community instead of learning to read and write. For families with nothing else, she becomes a commodity and is either married off or sold. These young girls are also at high risk of HIV infection.
Working to turn these young girls’ lives around offers untapped potential to boost economic growth in developing countries by helping to provide them with education and opportunities for gainful employment. According to the Nike Foundation website, by ensuring an adolescent girl has seven or more years of education, she will marry four years later and have 2.2 fewer children. The website also notes when an educated girl earns income, she reinvests 90 percent in her family, compared to 35 percent for a boy.
So, how can you make a difference? You can visit the Nike Foundation website or The Girl Effect website to learn more about opportunities to give and make a difference.
Source: BecauseAction.com
