April: Stories of survival and empowerment

Plan USA eNews: April 2009

Plan in the news

Plan brings plight of girl soldiers to attention of the United Nations
CNN team helps Plan build school in Mali
Author Cheryl Saban seeks to inspire women to recognize their worth

Get involved

Help end discrimination against girls
Support Plan's Because I am a Girl Campaign!

Letter from the editor

While I try not to take anything for granted, the more I learn about women's lives in other countries and cultures, the more grateful I am to be a woman in the United States.

I may not have much disposable income — but at least I have an income I can call my own; and while I may sometimes think that no one is listening to me — I at least know that I do have a voice and the right to be heard.

Sadly, this is not true for all women. Governments are failing girls and women all over the world. Girls are discriminated against even before they are born, are less well nourished, face daily violence and are less likely to go to school. Girls around the world are living in the shadows of their brothers, fathers, uncles and husbands.

Featured in this issue are stories of girls and women who refuse to live — or let others live — in the darkness. Women, like Tante Mado, who will stand up to centuries of tradition for what is best for girls — and for their families.

Project of the month

Breaking Tradition: fighting female genital cutting in West Africa
Motivated by the drive of one woman, Tante Mado, Plan and an organization in Guinea called AFAF are working to put a stop to a traditional practice that harms more than 2 million girls worldwide each year.
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From the field

Sierra Leone: Christiana's story
Christiana was just 14 when she was captured by rebel soldiers, abused, raped and held captive for three years before being released. This is her story.
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Women in Darfur: reinventing the future
Women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the violence in Darfur and the subsequent humanitarian crisis. Plan is working with them to give them hope, raise their morale and reinvent their futures.
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Featured corporate partner

A place where treadle sewing machines reign supreme
To the women in the ladies' sewing club in Azua, Dominican Republic, the treadle sewing machines provided through the support of the General Federation of Women's Clubs are key to their livelihood and their empowerment.
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