We’ve been feeling a bit guilty though. Last year, more than 700 amazing people wore a school dress to send girls in Sierra Leone to school, but until today, no one has known the impact their hard work had in Sierra Leone. But today you will know! We’ve got our fancy little impact report in this post, as well as the reasons why it took us so long to report back to you.

Check it out!

Impressive huh? But I bet you’re wondering why it took us so long to report back on this.. well..

1. We raised more than we expected.

Last year, Do It In A Dress raised over $275,000, which is a LOT of money. Inititally, we’d planned to invest the funds back into the scholarship girls we’re currently supporting – all 150 of them (you can read about that here), however, we soon realised that it wouldn’t be ethical to sit on a big pile of cash for the next 12 or so years while our girls move through school. So we needed to finalise the proposals for our other projects – and that takes time and expertise.

2. Since November, we’ve been getting our new project proposals finalised.

In November last year, we brought on Lucy Gray, our amazing program manager. Since then, Lucy has been working with our team in Sierra Leone and Australia. We’ve been getting our strategic direction nailed and coming up with concrete program documentation for the next two years. As you can imagine engaging with 15 communities, 23 schools and hundreds of families takes time. Not to mention planning programs and creating detailed two year budgets. Lucy visited Sierra Leone in February, and since Feb she’s been working her bum off to finish the project documentation for 2013 and 2014.

3. We’re committed to making a REAL difference, not just spending money because we have to. 

We’ve been fundraising now for about 4 years. And we know how much energy and love goes into raising every single dollar. To us, every dollar is a gift – it’s crucial that our funds our invested wisely. But we couldn’t guarantee this until our project documentation was complete - Hence our silence. Now that we’re reporting on the Do It In A Dress impact, we are doing so with integrity. We know that the money is being directed to where it needs to go, AND that it’s going to make a direct impact on the ground in Sierra Leone and get as many girls back in school as possible.

4. Change takes time

We live in a world of instants. You can grab a delicious coffee in just a few minutes, take a photo and have it online in seconds, and we get antsy if our email takes more than a few seconds to load. But long term sustainable change doesn’t work like that. Our team in Sierra Leone are working in one of the toughest environments in the world. Not only are we working in some extremely remote communities, but we’re dealing with petrol shortages, clashing cultural beliefs, language barriers and god knows what else. Change takes time – at the risk of sounding like a shampoo commercial, “it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.”

Now that we’ve invested this time to review and thoroughly document our programs, the next two years will be EPIC.

We’re all VERY excited about the next two years in Sierra Leone (and Australia).

We’ve also brought on amazing new communications guru called Larissa, and she’s been doing a fantastic job at getting the One Girl word out.

So to round it out, a huge thank you to EVERYONE who got their dress on in 2012. Together we created something truly magical. And we can’t wait to do it again in 2013.

When she was just 11 years old, Binta was sent to Freetown to live with her older brother. Her brother was planning to give Binta up for marriage, even though she was just a little girl. This isn’t uncommon in Sierra Leone. Young girls can be seen as a burden and marriage is seen as a solution for this. Thankfully, one of her other brothers, Mohamed, heard about this and put a stop to it. He took Binta to live with him instead.

Sadly, Mohamed didn’t have a job so Binta was forced to drop out of school and help her brother sell small goods on the streets. Binta had only finished school up till JSS2 (Year 8). Mohamed tried to save enough to get Binta a tutor, but he couldn’t afford to send her back to school.

We met Binta and her brother Mohamed in 2012, when they were living in the Murray Town slum. We heard Binta’s story and offered her a scholarship to go back to school. Binta hadn’t been in school for 4 years and seized the opportunity get back into the classroom.

Since she’s been back in school she’s worked so hard, and for her mid-term exam, Binta received the second highest score in the whole school! The teachers have now awarded Binta the role of Head Prefect. As Head Prefect, Binta arrives at school before other students, making sure the classrooms are swept and cleaned, and she’s responsible for taking attendance for her teacher.

We are so inspired by Binta’s story and the incredible journey she’s had so far. Binta’s now in SS1 (Year 10) and will sit for her exam soon to move into SS2 (Year 11). We can’t wait to see what Binta will achieve next!

We’re so grateful that your support enables us to get bright young girls like Binta back into the classroom where they belong – so thank you. We hope you’re as moved by Binta’s story as we are!

Like, we REALLY love them.

Our volunteers are some of the hardest working, most talented and passionate people we know and it’s so amazing to be able to work with them. This week is National Volunteer Week, and it’s a great opportunity to shine the spotlight on some of our rockstar volunteers who make One Girl tick. It’s incredible to think that much of the work we do literally wouldn’t be possible without these guys and the many others who put in countless hours, a tonne of energy and a whole lot of love into the work they do with us. So this week we want to say THANK YOU to our vollies – you guys rock our world!

This is Leila, our amazing Participant Support Officer for Do It In A Dress last year!
How long have you been volunteering with One Girl?
I’ve been volunteering with One Girl for about 9 months now, I jumped on board in the early stages of the Do It In A Dress movement last year.

What kind of work did you do?
I was the Participant Support Officer for Do It In A Dress, which meant I got to talk to and support all of the amazing participants and see what crazy challenges they got up to! I was the go-to girl for questions and help, and I also got to write the e-newsletter updates for all of our supporters.

Why are you passionate about investing in girls?
Girls have so much potential which in a lot of the developing world continues to go unnoticed and is suppressed. An educated girl will make better life decisions, will be healthier and will therefore make a better life for herself and her children. A girl will become a mother, and so investing in girls also means investing in future generations – and the benefits just keep on multiplying.

And finally (the obligatory silly question), if you could be any superhero which one would you be?
Sailor Moon – she looks good, kicks butt and has a cat sidekick. She’s also in an all-girl gang. What’s not to love!

Everyone, meet Sandra – our Financial Accountant extraordinaire!
How long have you been volunteering with One Girl?
I started working for One Girl in December 2012 so about 5 months now

What is your role with One Girl?
My role is Financial Accountant and I ensure that all the financial obligations of the organisation are recorded correctly so that we can produce Reports that are audited annually and reviewed monthly by the Directors and the Board.

What attracted you to One Girl as an organisation?
I was looking for a volunteering position and came across the One Girl role.  I jumped online and was blown away not only by the professionalism of the team but the heartfelt philosophy of the organisation’s aims and objectives. I wanted to be part of it and contribute.

What’s the best thing about volunteering with One Girl?
We all want to make a difference but by working for One Girl you not only make a difference yourself but you get to make a difference to a girl living in Africa who will change not only her world but that of generations to come! I think this is a very special thing to be part of.

What is your theme song? What song best describes you?
Haha …The first song that comes to mind is “I’m on the road to nowhere” by Talking Heads!

And last, but not least, this is Garth our all-round Creative Guru!
How long have you been volunteering with One Girl?
I have been volunteering at One Girl for 2 years.

What is your role with One Girl?
I have changed my role at one girl, evolving where I have been needed. I started off doing the campaign shoot for Do It In A Dress 2011 and then I came on to do the creative direction of the cocktail event for the Launch of Do It In A Dress 2012. Once that role was completed I came on board as the Photographer/Co-Director of the Video and Campaign Shoot for 2012. This year I’ve taken on the role of Digital Producer, helping drive One Girl’s creative production.

What attracted you to One Girl as an organisation?
What attracted to me the One Girl organisation is that I could see that I could really make a difference with the skills that I have to fulfill on what I can see can make such a difference in the world.

What’s the best thing about volunteering with One Girl?
Is the open space to really say what you think works, doesn’t work about what we are up to and working on. A safe space. Also seeing that massive difference that we are making when we get photos or contact the Sierra Leon team about what is happening on the ground.


And finally, silly question time! If your life were a movie who would you want to play you?
I am going to say Meryl Streep because it would be hilarious to see her take on being me.

Do you believe every girl has the right to an education? We do.

It seems so obvious to us – of COURSE every girl has the right to go to school. But not everyone agrees with us. There are 60 MILLION girls around the world don’t have access to education – How crazy is that? We really can’t imagine where any of us would be if we’d never learned how to read and write.

This is something that we’re really passionate about – and we know there are lots of passionate people out there, who are just like us. And it might be that you’re also looking for a way to turn that passion into action.

Which is why we’re putting the call out Australia wide for One Girl Ambassadors. We’re launching a 6-month program around Australia that will train you in becoming an inspirational speaker, leader and advocate for girls education and social change.

Here are the reasons why you should join us.

1. You’ll find your tribe.

As a One Girl Ambassador you’ll be rubbing shoulders with some of Australia’s most passionate and motivated men and women who are spreading the word about Girls Education AND are changing the lives of women and girls in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Join a community of like-minded people who are excited about the same issues as you.

2. Leadership and speaker training

Through a 1-day training in your local city, ongoing google hangouts and supporter emails, you’ll be trained to be an inspiring speaker AND develop yourself as a leader. You’ll learn how to craft your own talks and stories so that you can inspire change in the people around you.

3. Lead a social change movement

You’ll learn about the science behind creating social change movements – plus you’ll be equipped to build up leaders around you and engage your local networks in One Girl’s work and our Do It In A Dress campaign. Best of all, you’ll be leading a movement that works to enable girls and women to reach their full potential.

If you want to rock the world for women and girls, then we hope you’ll join us!

For more information and to apply go to: www.onegirl.org.au/ambassador

The first round of training days will occur at the end of May and continue through to July, please refer to the dates we’ll be in your city. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Zainab’s parents passed away shortly after the war ended in Sierra Leone. She was sent to live with her uncle and his six children.

Zainab’s uncle is a farmer, and he doesn’t earn enough money to send all of his children to school. Zainab missed out on the opportunity to attend school, because her uncle had to put his own children first.

Zainab was desperate to learn, so every day she’d wander over to her local primary school and sit inside the classroom. She had no books, no bag, no uniform and no pencils – but that didn’t stop her. The schools call children like these ‘visitors’. Many children in Sierra Leone do this if their parents can’t afford to send them to school.

Children who are visitors don’t get to sit their exams because they haven’t paid for the school fees. Even though Zainab wouldn’t be able to graduate primary school as a visitor, she kept at it. She was so desperate to learn and she decided that listening to the lessons was better than no education at all.

Last year, because of your support , we were able to give Zainab a scholarship, and now she’s a student in Grade 6!

When Zainab goes to school now it’s a totally different picture. She has books, a bag, uniform and pencils and most importantly, she’ll be sitting her exams so that she can graduate and move into High School! How awesome is that?

We love that we’re able to give girls like Zainab, who are so hungry to learn, an opportunity to get an education. And we love our supporters who help make this work possible – that’s you!

All the girls we work with come from different situations and have all faced some difficult challenges. But all these amazing girls have one thing in common – a desire to learn!

In Sierra Leone, girls know the value of education. They know how important it is because it’s not something that they are guaranteed, or even something they can expect. There are so many barriers to young girls continuing their education, from child marriage, a lack of money for school fees, and even illness and disease. All this means that girls will go to any length to try and get an education.

We’re continously inspired by girls like Zainab – and it makes us believe more than ever that when you educate a girl, she can change her world.

Rainy season in Sierra Leone is a big deal. The season stretches from about mid-May to mid-November, with July and August being the wettest months. Preparations for the onslaught of rain have already started, and in Freetown at this time of the year its not uncommon to wake up to the sound of tin roofs clinking and clanging with repairs, loud reminders that the rainy season is about to begin.

With rainy season comes a whole new set of hurdles to overcome, particularly up-country in the rural areas. With so much rain, the roads become muddy tracks extremely difficult to drive on, affecting the commerce and trade of the farmers, as well as the safety of the children who have to walk long distances to school.

A top priority for the One Girl team in Sierra Leone is to ensure that the LaunchPad pads are delivered to the five rural communities in a covered and reliable vehicle, because of course soaked pads = unuseable!

Unstable school buildings are another huge concern, and last year many school classrooms were damaged and even destroyed. One of the schools our schoalrship girls go to in the Magbath Line community was badly damaged in last year’s rains – here’s some of the girls standing near a classroom in urgent need of repair.

In Freetown there are different challenges again, particularly in the crowded slums where rain wreaks havoc and tragically causes deaths every year. Last year a huge boulder rolled down from the hills into Dwazak, a slum in the centre of the city, and killed several people.

Fallen electrical wires become especially dangerous with rain and the risk of electrocution a real threat when people walk around town. People’s health also suffers and the rains make it harder for people to reach medical facilities. Last year there was a major cholera outbreak that took some time to get under control.

Despite all the complications that the rain brings, many say that the weather is cooler and much more manageable than the stifling heat of the dry season. Hannah, LaunchPad’s Program Officer says that using an umbrella is generally pointless, as the winds are so strong and the umbrella frequently inverts. Hannah says this causes great laughs for spectators – who yell out ‘satellite dish!’ from the comfort of their shelter to those with unfortunate umbrella mishaps.

First image by Guardian UK, second by Charlotte Kesl.

The pace and bustle of Freetown has become second nature over the past two months. Although there’s an absence of traffic lights and speed limit signs, the rhythm of pedestrians, okadas (motorbikes), taxis and podas-podas (large passenger vans), typically seems to move in a natural cycle.

I will be in-country working with One Girl Sierra Leone as the Development and Communication Officer until August and there’s plenty to accomplish over the next few months. This is a pivotal time for One Girl Sierra Leone and there is great anticipation in the office for the project plan to be solidified so the next implementation phase of the Girl Education Program (GEP) and Launch Pad can take off.

Charlotte in Rakai, Uganda

Although I’ve worked extensively as a documentary photographer in Colombia and Uganda, Sierra Leone has its own set of challenges. Last week there was a fuel crisis that left petrol stations with intimidating queues. There is rumor that the government will lift the subsidy on fuel prices – currently 4500Le a liter (approximately $1USD), but without the subsidy it could rise by 20%. That increase would surely affect not only transport, but weigh on the restraints of running a generator to power the office. The hum of generators is omnipresent in Murray Town, where our office is located, due to the fact that most – who are in a financial position to do so – act proactively and ignore the wait for NPA (National Power Authority) to sporadically make an appearance. It’s sometimes absent for days. A common topic of conversation is that before the presidential elections last year, the hydroelectric dam ran on overtime, damaging a portion of the turbines. For that reason, NPA is rationed all over the city and on a daily basis it’s an adventure to search for a place to charge laptops and mobiles.

I’m fortunate enough to walk to the office from home and the friendliness of neighbors is always refreshing. I’m often greeted by wide smiles of some of our GEP Scholarship Girls who pass by in their school uniforms. Although my Krio is limited – ‘no wahala’ or ‘no worries’ being one of my favorite expressions – my presence in the office is hopefully allowing for a space for the staff to be more confident in their English skills.

After completing my masters last year at the London School of Economics (in Media, Communications and Development), I’m thankful to be working abroad again in a different part of the world. My intention after my degree was to transition to the broader scope of development work, but to still incorporate my passion for photography. There’s much to embrace from my colleagues and their dedication to the work here in Salone. Even though they keep saying they are learning so much from me; it’s actually me who is benefitting and learning greatly from our friendship.

Stay tuned over the next few months to learn about some of the girls and women we work with, the staff that make our work possible, and general happenings around Sierra Leone!

Images courtesy of Mary Helen Bobo and Lucy Gray

A few weekends ago Playfit Basketball Club hosted a Do It In A Dress tournament, and we hung out court-side to check out the action!

You have to see these HI-LAR-IOUS photos of the guys and girls getting their school dresses on, and even taking some creative license with their outfits – are those hair curlers we see?!

Organiser-extraordinaire Christine said she put together the Do It In A Dress event to have fun and make a difference. She said she was keen to get involved with One Girl because, “It was an easy way for people to contribute and play and I believe this cause will make a difference to transforming poverty”.

There were 36 players in the event, and together they raised $580 to go towards funding our Girls Education Projects and LaunchPad – amazing! The players loved it, Christine said, “they thought it was great they could have fun and do their bit to donate to the cause.”

They even asked Playfit to host more tournaments in the future! Does this mean we get to see more dudes in dresses? We hope so! Big shout out to Christine at Playfit Basketball Club in St Kilda for the great event and everyone who supported it – you guys rock!

All images by Garth Ernstzen / One Girl Australia

You’re full of energy, super passionate about educating girls in Sierra Leone, and so unbelievably creative!

Today we wanted to share with you what one of our talented supporters and friends, Cheryl Lin, has created with her The Little Black Dress Project book and exhibition.

Image courtesy of Cheryl Lin

Cheryl’s been a long time supporter of One Girl, and was one of the first ever Do it in a Dress’ers. Her latest project involves a dress of a different kind – and it’s is all about combining creativity and a passion for street-style fashion.

The Little Black Dress Project is a book Cheryl wrote and published herself, featuring 52 different looks using the same ‘Little Black Dress’. Cheryl set herself a challenge last year – to wear one LBD to work, once a week for the whole year.  After styling all the outfits herself, she pulled together some friends to do the photography and design work, then launched a crowdfunding campaign on Pozible to make it all happen.

After a nail-biting few weeks, she received enough crowdfunding to turn The Little Black Dress Project dream into a reality, Cheryl wrote and published the book, THEN held a month-long exhibition at Melbourne Central as part of the 2013 L’oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival’s cultural program. Running from March 1- 31, the exhibition featured photos and mannequins displaying some of the awesome LBD looks Cheryl crafted for the book. (Phew, we get tired just writing about it – what a commitment Cheryl!)

Image courtesy of Cheryl Lin

We’re extremely excited to add that a portion of the proceeds from each book sold will go towards funding One Girl’s projects in Sierra Leone! We’ve got a copy sitting on our office coffee table and we’re seriously blown away by Cheryl’s creativity, perseverance and her amazing style. We’re dusting off our LBD’s and trying out some new styles. Go Cheryl!

Chantelle and Dave getting stuck into Cheryl’s book – getting some ideas for Do it in a Dress later this year perhaps..?

You can grab your own copy of The Little Black Dress Project here. Check out Cheryl’s amazing blog www.BusinessChic.com.au and find out more about The Little Black Dress Project and the incredible woman behind it too!

I’m here in Sierra Leone for 3 weeks to work with the One Girl team here on new activities for the Girls Education program and LaunchPad – our amazingly popular sanitary pad social enterprise.

Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, is a hectic, dusty, yet beautiful, coastal city from where One Girl Sierra Leone operates. In true African style the staff are incredibly welcoming and make it very clear to me from the outset that they are keen to learn and improve upon the work they’ve been doing in Tonkolili and Freetown for the past 2 years. This promises to be a productive couple of weeks for us all.

Shortly after my arrival we head ‘up-country’ to talk with the scholarship girls and the LaunchPad Champions about the programs and to get a better idea of the reasons why girls don’t go to school, or may drop out well before finishing Year 12. The 3-hour trip eastwards is no easy feat – getting access to vehicles that will reliably transport us to these remote villages is one of the many challenges our team regularly face.

I’m lucky not be here during the rainy season when roads become ‘swamps’ and therefore impassable. March, they tell me, is the hottest and driest month in Sierra Leone. They were not wrong. The heat is stifling, but this is soon forgotten when upon arrival to the village of Ronietta we were met with a tribal welcome. Women dancers and drummers dressed in crocheted, brightly coloured outfits, intricate headdresses and face-paint paraded from the village, followed by the entire village, to greet us at the school.

Warm greetings were repeated in various forms upon entering the 8 other communities over the following two days. I am told of the many reasons why girls are prevented from going to school. Most often girls are viewed as an invaluable set of hands on the family’s small farm patch and around the home. For some, marriage and early pregnancy will prevent them from continuing their education. In some cases families struggle to feed their children, never mind support them through high school.

The situation is dire and yet somehow we must try to find a way to help out, to support the communities to find a long-term solution to their problems rather than giving handouts that risk creating an unsustainable dependency. I posed this question to the One Girl team in Sierra Leone and they have come up with some fantastic solutions – watch this space!

Images by Charlotte Kesl / One Girl Sierra Leone