As the world celebrated the International Day of the Girl last October 11, World Vision Philippines successfully mounted its #GirlsCan campaign which highlighted the need to support and empower girls for a brighter future. The advocacy was able to gain over 700 sponsorships since its launch last August, with the help of various celebrities, partners and sponsors.

Multi-awarded actress and World Vision Ambassador Jasmine Curtis-Smith, together with Miss Universe Philippines 2020 candidate and fashion entrepreneur Ericka Evangelista and content creators Janina Vela and Lyqa Maravilla led in voicing out that empowered girls, empower girls.

The Women Business Council of the Philippines (WomenBiz) along with the other partners – Globe Kmmunity, Ever Bilena, Hello Glow, Lazada, Shoppee, Club of Marikina North Rotary, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Hera and Plus Network, made it big for the campaign. Adarna House pledged part of their sales to aid programs for girl empowerment.

Papemelroti paved the way for International Day of the Girl by offering an exclusive and personalized #GirlsCan articulated paper dolls as freebie when you visit their stores! You can collect the rest of the dolls each time you donate Php1,000 to World Vision’s #GirlsCan campaign.

Today, various issues surrounding girls in the country remain and violence against children is one of the major concerns, in fact there is an increase of 264% cases in online sexual exploitation. In education, over 2 million girls drop out from school while more adolescent girls get pregnant and give birth every day.

“Despite the many advances that we have achieved over the years in promoting the rights of children, unfortunately, there are a lot of issues still affecting girls around the world. The harsh realities faced by girls underpin the necessity for us citizens to advance their rights,” said Ms. Vanessa Retuerma, World Vision Director for Strategy Management, Impact and Learning.

While poverty remains to be the leading cause of these alarming problems, there are always ways on how to empower girls to break free. Just imagine what #GirlsCan do if we give them a better future ahead. They can be an influence for good and they can change lives.

To know how you can support #GirlsCan, visit https://t.co/RAUn2HPxP7 or follow World Vision’s official social media pages /worldvisionph on Facebook, @worldvisionphl on Instagram, and @worldvisionph on Twitter.