San Diego, California (PRWEB) October 11, 2012
PCI is highlighting its global efforts to improve the status of girls in developing communities on the UN-sanctioned International Day of the Girl on October 11th. The annual observance is a movement to speak out against gender bias and advocate for girls’ rights everywhere.
Gender equity is both a programmatic and organization-wide commitment for PCI. PCI has developed and adapted innovative program models that advance gender equity while maximizing the participation of girls and women, who in most developing societies lack the education and opportunities that are afforded to men.
In Central and South America, PCI’s school feeding programs have encouraged attendance among girls by offering a daily nutritious meal at participating schools. Over the past decade, PCI has provided over 133,000,000 meals to school children in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Bolivia.
Through PCI’s Hope for Women project in Ethiopia, PCI reduced female genital mutilation by 90% in one sample of participants. Additionally, the program helped increase girls’ school attendance by over 20% in four targeted areas of the remote region of Afar.
In India, PCI is changing the lives of at-risk children through a network of outreach workers and drop-in shelters that provide counseling and treatment, nutrition education, health and psycho-social support, vocational and life-skills training, and family reunification services. These programs place a special emphasis on vulnerable adolescent girls, who often have fewer opportunities than boys to complete their education or learn a vocational skill.
Worldwide, PCI is expanding its commitment to women and girls through Women Empowered (WE), a global initiative dedicated to promoting the economic and social empowerment of women through the formation of self-managed and self-sustaining savings groups. To date, PCI has coordinated the formation of 475 savings groups, involving nearly 10,000 women in total.
“PCI wholeheartedly believes in providing an opportunity for girls to show leadership and reach their full potential,” said PCI’s President and CEO, George Guimaraes. “When given the proper tools and resources, girls can be the catalysts to overcome poverty and achieve lasting change in their communities.”
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2011 to establish October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. The term “girl child” is commonly used abroad to distinguish the unique challenges faced by those under age 18 from those faced by women.
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Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011, PCI (Project Concern International) is an international health, development and humanitarian assistance organization, operating in 16 countries worldwide. PCI is dedicated to saving lives and building healthy communities around the globe, benefitting over 6.7 million people annually in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Funded by federal grants and private support, PCI’s current annual budget is nearly $50 million and the organization has 600 employees worldwide. PCI’s headquarters are located in San Diego, CA and also has an office in Washington, DC and a Seattle, WA representative.