Colorful Girls

Colorful Girls is a community-based, leadership organization dedicated exclusively to girls ages 12-17.  Colorful Girls' program helps girls to avoid the pitfalls of trafficking, dangerous labor and other forms of violence, by increase girls’ ability to make strategic life-decisions, generate choices and exercise bargaining power.  This real empowerment creates opportunities for girls to better cope with their difficulties, envision alternatives and take leadership into their own hands. 

Programs

Colorful Girls' programs, including weekly afterschool clubs, quarterly girl gatherings and a girl-led Rights Awareness Campaign, put girls at the center.  Colorful Girls maintain an active network in which information, ideas, support and enthusiasm are abundant. 

•  Colorful Girls Circle – weekly after-school leadership programs for girls at-risk of school drop-out, trafficking, dangerous labor, HIV and early marriage.
  

• Girls Forums – quarterly gatherings of girls mobilize the girls movement to end violence, trafficking and various forms of exploitation while building support systems and advocacy tools.
  

• Girls Rights Awareness Campaign – amongst girls of all ages, school teachers, parents, community members and other humanitarian agencies

Why the need?

In Burma where poverty is acute, when a girl reaches adolescence, she feels increasing pressure to leave school, to care of ailing family members or take a job outside of the home. This increases her risk to trafficking, serious exploitation, HIV infection and early marriage. 

In the face of the complex set of interrelated issues experienced by girls in Burma/Myanmar Colorful Girls programs address the needs of the ‘whole girl,’ giving them a chance to reach their potential. 

How teams efforts translate to impact

Funds raised by the team will go directly to materials for weekly afterschool groups. These groups are the lynchpin of the Colorful Girls movement. Today more than 500 girls are involved on a weekly basis and in 2012, we expect there to be over 1000! The weekly groups revolve around a specially crafted curriculum that helps girls learn to recognize and build on their strengths, form long-lasting friendships, learn to voice their rights and access their needs. 

How Colorful Girls Creates Sustainable Global Change

Healthy and educated girls become women who raise healthy and cared for children, earn higher incomes, have the ability to leave dangerous situations and lead businesses and governments to make decisions that protect women and foster gender quality.

*Photos courtesy of Colorful Girls