Studio Samuel Celebrates International Day of the Girl Honoring Its’ Theme, Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress
LAUNCHES SHORT FILM CREATED BY STUDIO SAMUEL STUDENTS EXPLORING CHALLENGES FACED BY GIRLS BORN INTO POVERTY
Girls in Studio Samuel’s Training for Tomorrow Program Made 500 Feminine Hygiene Kits to Impact Girls in Need in Ethiopia, Empowering Girls to Stay in School
New York/Addis Ababa-based NGO and non-profit organization Studio Samuel, which operates with the mission of providing life skills to vulnerable young women in Ethiopia through its impact program Training for Tomorrow, is participating in International Day of the Girl (October 11). Today, Studio Samuel launches a short film Her Path (view/share on YouTube) posing the question: Has birthplace played a role in your poverty or prosperity?. Created by Studio Samuel students and narrated by Julian Lennon and Izzy Bizu, the film explores challenges faced by girls born into poverty, including child labor, child marriage, trafficking and lack of access to education.
As referenced by UN Women, the theme for this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress” is a “call for action for increased investment in collecting and analyzing girl-focused, girl-relevant and sex-disaggregated data.” The UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for improving data on girls and addressing the issues that are setting them back. One issue exemplified as standing in the way of girls’ progress is child marriage, which is explored in the Studio Samuel short film.
Studio Samuel, an Alliance Member of Women Thrive Worldwide, targets 6 of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals: No Poverty, Good Health and Well-Being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Partnerships for the Goals.
Additionally, in honor of International Day of the Girl, the Studio Samuel team and Training for Tomorrow students will deliver 500 sustainable feminine hygiene kits to schools in areas facing poverty. The Studio Samuel girls are doing work to keep peers in school, to help the community see that education is the key that opens girls to progress and breaking poverty cycles. In developing countries such as Ethiopia, many girls do not move on to secondary school, one common cause of dropping out being the lack of feminine hygiene supplies. Studio Samuel helps combat this tragic problem with feminine hygiene kits made at its training center, while Training for Tomorrow fosters employable skills for the girls in the program.
Studio Samuel honors this day, International Day of the Girl, which recognizes the importance of empowering girls around the world for equality,
Her Path short film created by Studio Samuel students (view/share on YouTube): http://www.herpath.world
“I’ve been impressed and energized by Studio Samuel Foundation’s sustainable model and approach for women’s empowerment in Ethiopia. The organization stands to make an impact with women, not just for women - and most importantly, with the local communities, not over them." - Julian Lennon, philanthropist, photographer and musician (and Advisor to Studio Samuel)
"Organizations like Studio Samuel Foundation are critical to helping educate women and giving them the skills and confidence to improve their livelihoods and those of their families." - Sheryl WuDunn, Co-Creator of Half The Sky Movement