We Stand Up for Hope - A Guest Blog from the Rukmini Foundation

Laxmi Aryal was the first person from her village to go to school. Through hard work and hope for a better future, she eventually graduated from high school and college. Education has provided her opportunities that would otherwise not exist.

As honorary Chairperson of Rukmini Foundation, Laxmi currently provides guidance and inspiration for an organization that is seeking to empower underprivileged girls in Nepal through education. This October she is traveling back to Nepal and she is taking with her a library (in the form of eBook readers) for the girls being supported by Rukmini Foundation. The foundation looks to inspire future Laxmis who will be able to hope for a better future for themselves, their families and their community. Read about the gift of a library that Laxmi will be carrying to Nepal this October:

http://www.rukminifoundation.org/2012/09/30/gift-of-reading-for-holidays/

On 10.11.12, Laxmi and the Rukmini Foundation will Stand Up for Hope.

We thank the Rukmini Foundation for partnering with LitWorld to Stand Up for Girls. The RukminiFoundation was established in order to address the root causes of discrimination and disenfranchisement of girls in poor, rural areas of Nepal. Their mission is to improve the lives of underprivileged girls by empowering them through a holistic program of quality education, supportive mentoring services and a physical well-being program. To learn more about the Rukmini Foundation visit http://www.rukminifoundation.org.

I Stand Up for Education and Literacy - Melissa Villa of Project PEARLS Shares Her Story

My name is Melissa Villa.  I Stand Up for EDUCATION and LITERACY. 

Growing up as a young orphan and an “ugly duckling,” I knew in my heart and spirit that getting an education would be my comfort, strength and beauty. 

I wasn’t a straight A student. I was more of your average student who tried enough not to fail in school. I succeeded, and I failed, but that didn’t stop me from trying harder each time.

Education is not just about schooling, or the specific facts you gain inside a classroom.  Education is more about learning. The knowledge and skills you learn in school prepare you to face the challenges that life brings you.  Literacy, the ability to read and write, helps us in our daily decision-making, judgment and problem solving.

Sadly and tragically, not everyone is fortunate and blessed to get an education. Not everyone is literate. This is why I Stand Up for Education and Literacy, especially for the poorest of the poor children in the Philippines. Being able to read and write is the most beautiful and important journey a child can ever have, even if, and especially if, that child is living in poverty.

Thanks to the freeing power of education and literacy, I no longer feel like the “ugly duckling.” I can proudly say, I feel the happiest, and most blessed because of the way I am able to offer an education and literacy journey to hundreds of children living in poverty in Manila, Philippines, through the work of Project PEARLS. 

Melissa founded Project PEARLS in 2008, to help the poorest of the poor children in the Philippines have a better life through various outreach programs. PEARLS strives to give children Peace, Education, Aspiration, Respect, Love, and Smiles. In the summer of 2010, Melissa was introduced to the children of Ulingan by photo journalist Sidney Snoeck. Since then, Project PEARLS has focused their outreach efforts is in Ulingan, a slum and garbage dumpsite community where over 400 families contend all day with the heat, fumes, dust, stench, flies, mosquitoes and vermin. Project PEARLS, has a weekly Feeding Program, Scholarship Program and quarterly Medical Mission in Ulingan. To learn more visit http://www.projectpearls.org/.  

I Stand Up for Women Athletes - Girls LitClub Member and LitWorld Teen Intern Tiffany Collins Featured on Huffington Post

We are so proud to see the words of another Girls LitClub Member, Tiffany Collins, on the Huffington Post. Tiffany fearlessly shares her story, and why she will Stand Up for Girls on October 11, the first annual International Day of the Girl. Read the full article here.

"I was on the track team in my high school for three years, and was one of the best girls on the team. Even though I was a great runner, my coach would always pay attention to the boys because of how fast they were, and because the boys got so much attention they would improve, and then get even more attention.

My coach could never understand the difference between a female and male perspective because he is a man himself. I thought, "He will never understand how the girls on the team feel unless we speak up." 

I Stand Up for Bookworms - LitWorld Teen Intern and LitClub Member Blogs for HuffPost Teen

Our wonderful intern and Girls LitClub member, Daija Spaulding, wrote a beautiful, inspiring, and uplifting piece for HuffPost Teen. She fearlessly shares her story, and what personally motivates her to Stand Up for Girls. Read the full article here.

"I never deviate from the goals I set for myself. I want to be a lawyer and an entrepreneur and a billionaire before I am 24. I want to write a book that will make people cry and laugh at the same time, like Sarah Dessen does. I want to be an inspiration for the little girls who are the bookworms in their schools.

I didn't have a childhood like the ones in the movies, but I will be the adult of my dreams. No one will ever make me feel like I am not worthy, because as far as I am concerned I am everything that I need to be right now. It took a long time for me to have that sort of security in myself, but McLean from What Happened to Goodbye shows me how. Just like Madeline from the children's book always taught me, if I stick to my dreams then they should come true, and that's exactly what I plan to do."
 

Stand Up for Girls 10.11.12