Brunch, lunch, morning tea or midnight feast – the simple act of getting friends, family and workmates together this month could make a significant difference in a young girl's life.
Throughout March, Tauranga-based charity The Cambodia Charitable Trust advocates supporting a global sisterhood from your local neighbourhood by holding a Get Together, to raise valuable funds for the trust, as well as awareness and support for the trust's Sponsor A Girl project.
Clare Morris, one of the event organisers, says Get Togethers are a great way to reach out and help someone less fortunate, transforming their lives through the simple act of sponsorship.
'It's not just about giving the girls the same chance of education as the boys; it also gives them permission to dream big and change their own worlds. From education, they have opportunities that they wouldn't get working in the salt fields or in servitude,” says Clare.
Founded by Denise Arnold, a co-director of Tauranga law firm Lyon O'Neale Arnold, the trust helps children in Cambodia receive an education, supporting 6000 children in 16 schools, as well as two teacher training colleges.
The Sponsor A Girl programme is just one of many ways the trust works to increase the number of young women completing primary and secondary education in Cambodia.
Research shows sponsoring a child is the most powerful way to fight poverty, enabling them to live healthier, happier and more productive lives.
A World Bank study found every year of secondary school education is correlated with an 18 per cent increase in a girl's future earning power. In addition, girls' attendance in secondary school is correlated with later marriage, later childbearing, lower maternal and infant mortality rates, lower birth rates, and lower rates of HIV/AIDS.
Clare was inspired to get involved with the trust after hearing founder Denise speak at an event.
'She was so passionate, driven and was already making such a difference. It was really important to me to get involved with someone who had great integrity; and I could feel confident that the money I would be helping raise would be going to what it was intended for,” says Clare.
Sponsor A Girl is close to Clare's heart, as she is a strong supporter and activist for women's rights and equality. She and her colleagues at Zespri sponsor a young woman, Pho Srey Nich, a 14-year-old who lives one kilometre from her secondary school.
'Both her parents are dead and she lives with her extended family in a wooden house – no toilet and the only power source is a kerosene lamp. The very thought that we are helping her get educated and therefore she can change her own life is a reward beyond anything that money can buy!”
Clare encourages Bay of Plenty residents to make their Get Togethers fun, stress-free and educational, adding: 'Make something nice and easy that will go a long way – we had scones, slices and sausage rolls!”
Delicious and easy recipes from Trust ambassador and New Zealand chef Nadia Lim are on her website (nadialim.com) to provide inspiration, as well as a budget template on the CCT site to help hosts work out ways to set up a ticket or donation system.
Information about the Sponsor A Girl programme can also be found at the Cambodia Charitable Trust website, www.cambodiatrust.org.nz
'Let's help those that the world often doesn't see and make it a better place!” says Clare.
For more information, or to Sponsor A Girl, visit www.cambodiatrust.org.nz