Since the launch of the Amani Life Project recently, we’ve often been asked the question, “What about boys? Are you going to send boys to college?” Our official answer is, “No. But we’re hoping that an organization springs to life sometime that does focus on the needs of orphaned boys.” While we know the needs are just as great, we feel it’s important to have a narrow focus that’s easy to understand and support. So here’s the bottom line for us as an organization: girls who age out of an orphanage or foster care system are some of the most vulnerable people on our planet. Because of issues with AIDS, pregnancy and sex trafficking, they are at risk in ways that are astounding for those of us in safe, beautiful America to comprehend. I ran into this list on a pretty cool web site that targets teenagers for social justice projects. Some of these facts I had seen before, but some were new to me.
11 Poignant Facts about Women Around the World
- Women perform 66% of the world’s work, but receive only 11% of the world’s income, and own only 1% of the world’s land.
- Women make up 66% of the world’s illiterate adults.
- Women head 83% of single-parent families. The number of families nurtured by women alone doubled from 1970 to 1995 (from 5.6 million to 12.2 million).
- Women account for 55% of all college students, but even when women have equal years of education it does not translate into economic opportunities or political power.
- There are 6 million more women than men in the world.
- Two-thirds of the world’s children who receive less than four years of education are girls. Girls represent nearly 60% of the children not in school.
- Parents in countries such as China and India sometimes use sex determination tests to find out if their fetus is a girl. Of 8000 fetuses aborted at a Bombay clinic, 7999 were female.
- Wars today affect civilians most, since they are civil wars, guerrilla actions and ethnic disputes over territory or government. 3 out of 4 fatalities of war are women and children.
- Rape is consciously used as a tool of genocide and weapon of war. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been subjected to rape and other sexual violence since the crisis erupted in Darfur in 2003. There is no evidence of anyone being convicted in Darfur for these atrocities.
- About 75% of the refugees and internally displaced in the world are women who have lost their families and their homes.
- Gender-based violence kills one in three women across the world and is the biggest cause of injury and death to women worldwide, causing more deaths and disability among women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accident, and war.
Read that last one again and let it sink in.
I believe that if we can turn orphaned girls into a voice for their gender and generation, the change in our world will be exponential and – truly – magnificent.
Loving God and Loving Change,
Bo
P.S. If you haven’t actually taken the plunge yet to help send an orphaned girl to college – we would SURE LOVE for you to jump over to www.amanilifeproject.com and do that now. For the price of a Sephora lip gloss, you’ll get a great sense of fulfillment, knowing you’re helping to bring social justice to women who need it the most. You’ll ALSO get a cool 143,000,000 Tote Bag so you can tell the world you care. Our goal for this September is 20 sponsors and we’re sooooo close…you can help us hit it on the very last day!
Bo,
Something jumped out at me yesterday while reading my devotions and it was one little simple sentence but as far as I’m concerned, God had it bolded, italicized, underlined, highlighted… Luke 12:33, Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
How blessed am I that I can’t give up a few soy lattes each month (funny how that popped into my head and we’re meeting at Starbucks) or ANOTHER lipstick, or a couple lunches out and bless a young lady(or 10 or 1,000 or more) who without help would never have a chance? This is big, amazing stuff and I am excited to let God stretch my faith and will by being obedient to His word!
Yep, Anne – I totally agree. We really have so much more to give than we realize and can give it without feeling too much of a pinch.
In other news: Did we say Starbucks or Barnes and Noble. I have Barnes stuck in my head but I failed to write it down which is always a mistake.
..Starbucks IN Barnes & Noble!
Hi Bo,
Just a quick question – did you say that you had posted Judy’s video, or that you were going to post it? I saw her story that you typed, but can’t find a video. There’s a good chance I’m just technologically challenged. It’s been known to happen…
Thanks!
Fawn
Hi Fawn…
Good news: you’re not technologically challenged! It hasn’t been fully edited yet so it isn’t posted but I think I may have mentioned it to you in an email. We’re working on two videos for the web site of our first Amani girls and I’m totally excited for them to be done…hopefully soon. Also, let me know if you haven’t gotten my email…my web site account is still a little tricky so every time I push SEND I hope they’re flying where they really need to go. I think I sent you one on Friday.
Bo