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I think we take a lot of things for granted. Our house, our car, our cellphone, the clean water we use in our bubble baths and the air conditioner that cools us down from the hot Puerto Rican climate, that Sephora makeup brush and that cute top from Zara… but those things are nothing. One of the most important things we take for granted is our education. The fact that by law, we are required to receives services from an academic institution since we are about three years old, until we are 18, a legal adult. In many low-income countries though, like Peru, Ethiopia and Tanzania, there are girls whose education is not guaranteed. They might not have money for school supplies or transportation, or their family might be so poor that they feel the best thing they can do for them is to start working to earn money. The problem with this is that these countries are losing many women who can become educated professionals who earn higher incomes and give back to their communities. Also, young girls are being put at risk for unplanned pregnancy, early marriage, illnesses and domestic violence.
However, things are changing. Some people have started to think that maybe, just maybe… these girls could be the solution their country needs. And that’s where She’s the First comes in. She’s the First is a non-profit organization that “provides scholarships to girls in low-income countries, fostering first-generation graduates and cultivating the next generation of global leaders”. These girls will be given the tools, the training and the experience they need to become a first-generation high school graduate and with some luck and a lot of work, to enter college. The proud and priceless feeling we got when we were accepted into our dream college? Imagine the proud feeling of these girls and their families when they are able to graduate and have opportunities that never in their wildest dreams would they have thought of having. That from a life full of difficulties, they are able to rise and become inspiring professionals. Now that is priceless.
A lot of people might say, what makes this cause different from any of the others? What about the boys in these countries? Well, the fact that we’re actually giving real tools to girls who will use them to change their world one day, who will help their own people to develop into a better society. In the case of the boys, who are equally important, She’s the First has chosen to focus on the girls, since statistically, girls face greater disadvantages in the sexist world they live in. Especially in the traditional, male-dominated countries of Africa and Latin America.
Every year, many efforts to help She’s the First are carried out and this year Her Campus Albizu decided to participate in one of them: The Tie-Dye Cupcake Bake-Off! Tie-Dye Cupcakes will be sold on the first floor of Albizu University to any student, teacher or visitor who wishes to help these girls have a chance at their dreams! Please come by our table every day from Tuesday to Thursday to learn more about this organization, as well as our chapter. We’ll be there from 10 am to 5 pm! If you wish to know more about She’s the First, you can visit their website at www.shesthefirst.org .
It is all worth it, if we can improve the world by improving the people within it and as a student of psychology from Albizu University, I can say that our founder, who always taught his students to transmit faith, hope and love, would agree.
*Photo courtesy by Pinterest