DUBLIN, Calif., May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Procter
& Gamble SSA (Sub-Saharan Africa Markets), World of Children®
Award, and EPF Educational Empowerment Initiative announced a joint
project to provide support for underprivileged girls in
Ghana to pursue their education.
EPF is a Ghanaian organization founded by Winnifred Selby, 2015 World of Children Youth
Honoree.
The joint project, designed to provide sanitary supplies and
health-related educational materials to 1,000 junior school girls
over the next 6 months, will be P&G's first corporate
citizenship initiative in Ghana.
It is in line with P&G's new Commitment to Action, announced at
the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in September 2015, to help girls and women around
the globe build confidence. Khululiwe Mabaso, P&G's Director of
Communications for Sub-Saharan Africa commented on the project
saying "Empowering the female child is multifaceted and one of the
most powerful platforms to positively change our society. Beyond
the powerful impact this initiative will have on the lives of
vulnerable Ghanaian females, we are optimistic that this will
transverse all over Africa
enabling an environment that positively embraces and uplifts the
female African child. "
Selby is thrilled with the joint project and its potential to
expand the scope of her current programs. "Girls can face so many
problems in Ghana today. Winning
the World of Children Award and entering into this relationship
with P&G shows that EPF's work – and these girls – are truly
important to the world. I cannot wait to share the news with
them!"
Harry Leibowitz, Co-Founder of
World of Children Award and recipient of the 2007 Procter &
Gamble Alumni Humanitarian Award describes the reasoning behind the
three-way project saying, "With P&G's new commitment and past
work, Selby's work with girls in her native Ghana, and World of Children Award in a
position to connect the two, the project just makes sense. We're
honored to be an integral part of this incredibly important program
designed to help girls remain in school."
P&G has already made significant impact in this issue area
with campaigns like the Always #LikeAGirl campaign, which elicited
an incredibly positive global response. Several P&G brands
recently launched related campaigns, including Secret's "Mean
Stinks" program dedicated to bringing an end to girl-to-girl
bullying by inspiring and supporting girls directly in their quest
to end mean behaviour and Venus's "Use Your And" campaign which
encourages women and girls to stand up against one-dimensional
labels. Over 1.2 million girls receive puberty and hygiene
education from professional nurses annually through the Always
School Programme.
Leibowitz, himself a P&G Alum, recognizes the incredible
opportunity the project has to bring a largely taboo subject out of
the shadows. "Through Winnifred, I've learned that girls and young
women in some parts of Ghana face
unimaginable obstacles to caring for themselves. Lack of access to
sanitary supplies during menstruation drastically increases school
absenteeism. Inadequate reproductive health education can have even
more devastating consequences. Girls fall behind or drop out
completely. It is broadly estimated that as many as 30 million
girls globally lack access to proper sanitation during
menstruation. With this program, we are making a start at changing
this troubling statistic. Together with P&G and EPF, girl by
girl, we can begin to address this problem and give them the tools
and support they need to continue their education and grow into
strong, bright leaders for our future."
ABOUT WORLD OF CHILDREN AWARD
World of Children® Award improves the lives of vulnerable
children by funding and elevating the most effective change makers
for children worldwide.
Since 1998, World of Children Award has granted more than
$7 million in cash grants and program
support to more than 100 humanitarian leaders who are the driving
force behind programs serving children worldwide. The
organization's exhaustive research and vetting of individuals has
been lauded by leading philanthropic organizations.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the
strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands,
including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®,
Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head &
Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®,
Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes
operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit
http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G
and its brands.
About EPF Educational Empowerment Initiative
EPF Educational Empowerment Initiative has three main projects,
which focus on decreasing menstruation-related absentee days for
secondary school girls by providing them with feminine hygiene
products; providing shoes for students who must walk long distances
over rough terrain to reach their schools; and connecting young
Ghanaian women to scholarships that enable them to continue their
education.
CONTACT: Sarah Cramer,
1-925-452-8746, sarah@worldofchildren.org
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SOURCE World of Children Award