User:Jkjan82/sandbox

Hello there, just testing stuff out for Girl Effect.

Now I'm going to add a reference here.

Thank you and goodnight.

Why girls?
It has been shown that an educated girl will reinvest 90 per cent of her future income in her family, compared with 35 per cent for a boy. And yet 250 million adolescent girls live in poverty and are more likely than boys to be uneducated, to be married at a young age, and to be exposed to HIV/AIDS. Today, less than two cents of every international development dollar goes to girls – the very people who could do the most to end poverty. As long as girls remain invisible, the world misses out on a tremendous opportunity for change. Better lives for girls mean better lives for everyone in their communities - their brothers, fathers, future husbands and sons. When you improve a girl’s life through education, health, safety and opportunity, these changes have a positive ripple effect. As an educated mother, an active, productive citizen and a prepared employee, she is the most influential force in her community to break the cycle of poverty. The Girl Effect argues that there are three solid reasons to invest time, energy and capital in an adolescent girl:

1. GIRLS ARE AGENTS OF CHANGE They play a crucial role in solving the most persistent development problems facing the world today. By investing in their economic potential through education and by delaying child marriage and teen pregnancy, issues such as HIV and AIDS can be resolved and the cycle of poverty can be broken.

2. PEOPLE ASSUME GIRLS ARE BEING REACHED They're not. The reality is that children's programs focus on 0-5 year-olds, youth programs tend to focus on males and older groups, and women's programs don't typically capture adolescent girls. Programs that do reach girls rarely address the ones most at risk. To break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, programs must be designed for, and measure the impact on, girls.

3. THE COST OF EXCLUDING GIRLS IS HIGH In India, adolescent pregnancy results in nearly $10billion in lost potential income. In Uganda, 85 per cent of girls leave school early, resulting in $10billion in lost potential earnings. By delaying child marriage and early birth for one million girls, Bangladesh could potentially add $69billion to the national income over these girls' lifetimes.

References