Today is International Day of the Girl and the 2020 theme is “My voice, our equal future”.
For the last 25 years, International Day of the Girl recognizes and celebrates the achievements of one of the worlds most disadvantaged, abused and neglected groups of people in almost every society. Globally, girls are one of the most vulnerable groups with every 10 minutes, somewhere in the world, an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence. 12 million girls under 18 will be married, and 21 million girls will become pregnant unplanned and unwillingly. FGM and rape statistics are higher than ever before, and the global pandemic has worsened every factor that girls face.
But this doesn't deter them. At Mision Mexico, we're so proud and excited to raise and stand with girls everywhere as they inspire, educate and take charge of their own futures. Especially the incredible group of girls that we love and care for who have absolutely smashed this year despite all the difficulties, who continue breaking boundaries, and are acing education during the pandemic with all of their grades averages increased! With the support of our Global family, people like you, we'll be spending the day doing walks and runs, of which we will dedicate to our girls and Vida - our girl who passed away early this year and who sadly had a terrible start to life with all her rights being taken from her as a young girl. Vida came to us with almost no educational background, she couldn't read or write, and really had little desire to learn. But being in home-school, we started to see some progress. At 17 years old, Vida graduated from primary school and started to talk about her future. She spoke of being a lawyer, a psychologist and maybe even a gym teacher! She wanted to help others which was apparent always in her kind heart. Vida was three classes from finishing her secondary certificate. We all miss and love her very much.
The loss of Vida is still so raw for many of us, but for others like A and A, it's a drive to fight harder. A and A have committed to logging 20 kilometres a week and have reached more than halfway of their fundraising target for our #moveformisionmexico challenge!
With more than 80 other supporters, we've been busy logging km’s and raising funds to give all of our children the best possible opportunities and support for a good education. It's been an incredible 12 weeks. For Vida, and A, and each one of our girls and their education, we'll be dedicating today to them. In honour of the day, a private donor has kindly offered to match up to £2,000 of donations made to any of our #moveformisionmexico challenge. DOUBLE YOUR DONATION You can also join our challenge this week by grabbing your loved ones and helping us log some extra kilometres. We'll be using the #moveformisionmexico, #ForIDG, or #ForVida on our arms and in our photos.
