Local writers contribute to charity book
(CNS Local Life): Two staff members of a Cayman law firm have contributed chapters to Girl on Purpose, an ebook raising money for gender-equality projects to support the 31 million girls around the world who are of primary school age but are not in school. The book contains 52 essays by writers, entrepreneurs, coaches, lawyers and athletes, each one inspired by 52 universal virtues.
Ogier’s professional support lawyer Rebecca Steller wrote the chapter on honour and human resources manager Emma Graham-Taylor penned one on humility.
The ebook is being sold online with $12 of the $20 purchase price going to support “She’s the First”, a charity established to educate and empower girls, and Rotary District 7020, which has longstanding initiatives to support basic education and literacy.
“This is an amazing initiative that will make a real difference to young girls around the world whose lives are held back by a lack of education and empowerment,” Graham-Taylor said in an Ogier press release.
“The statistics show how things that we take for granted are denied to girls because of their gender – formal education would improve their lives dramatically, and would have a positive impact on the economies of many developing countries.”
Steller added, “Taking part in this project has been an experience that has made us all stop and think, and I hope that beyond raising money for a very worthwhile cause, people enjoy the book.”
A UNESCO report found that two-thirds of the 774 million illiterate people in the world are female, that 116 million girls aged between 15 and 24 in developing countries have never completed primary school, and that there are 17 million girls of primary school age who are expected never to enter school.
The report also found that if all mothers completed primary education, maternal deaths in childbirth would be reduced by 66%, that education narrows pay gaps between men and women, and that when 10% more of its girls go to school, a country’s GDP increases by an average of 3%.
For more information and to buy the book go to The Girl on Purpose Project website