Marissa Carter has travelled to Guinea-Bissau with children’s rights charity Plan International Ireland, who she is an ambassador for.
The charity runs several development programmes in the West African country, which is one of the world’s poorest nations.
Marissa will visit a Village Savings & Loans groups, which focuses on transforming girl’s and women’s lives through financial independence and empowerment. She will hear stories of female entrepreneurship and the meaningful difference access to credit has made to their lives and families.
The beauty entrepeneur will also meet with survivors of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) – a horrific human rights violation which Plan International Ireland is working hard to eradicate.
CEO and mum-of-two Marissa was particularly drawn to the children’s rights charity because of their Because I Am A Girl movement.
This movement was initiated because girls in the developing world are more likely to be denied access to education, experience violence, be forced into early marriage, live in poverty and go hungry.
Improving girl’s rights, access to school and putting an end to early marriage and FGM can transform entire communities – and this is what Plan International Ireland works to achieve.
Speaking about her role as ambassador for the charity, Marissa said: “I was really drawn to Plan Ireland for their Because I am A Girl movement. The movement supports the youth-led, global movement for girls’ rights and gender equality.”
“Across the world girls suffer injustices every day simply because they are young and female. And I want to support girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them so they have the power to transform their futures.”
The visit is timely ahead of October 11th, when International Day of the Girl will be marked across the world. You can do your part to help spread the message of girl’s rights and equality by visiting the Because I Am A Girl web page and donating or sponsoring a girl.
Or simply helping to spread the message of equal rights for girls by sharing posts on Plan International Ireland’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can find out more about the Because I Am A Girl movement on www.plan.ie.
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