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Santa Fe Prep Girl up

Curious to know more about Girl Up, with whom we have worked, and what we have accomplished? Visit the Girl Up Advocate Appa resource that provides information about our focus countries, how to take action and advocate, and how to tweet to our congressional representatives. In addition, the app offers a list of informative statistics regarding adolescent girls in developing countries, the circumstances they are exposed to, and the education that we are working on making accessible to them.

This past year, Girl Up developed the Girls Count Act and invested a year’s worth of time into tirelessly advocating for its importance. As of June 12, 2015, President Obama signed the bill into law with the unanimous vote of our Senate and House of Representatives, who gave support from both sides of the aisle. The purpose of the bill is to ensure that girls worldwide are counted and given what we often take for granted: a birth certificate, for no child deserves to live invisibly. With proper documentation and identification, a birth certificate opens a variety of doors for girls such as these basic services: access to healthcare, social security, and education, and the opportunity to start a business. In addition, the founder of Girl Up, Melissa Hillebrenner, states that it is a “passport to protection” and prevents child labor, conscription into armed forces, human trafficking, and facing trial as an adult.

The app provides the opportunity to thank our Senators, Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and our representative, Ben Luján, via email for showing their support in passing the bill. The app includes a resource kit that contains a variety of videos from promoting the Girls Count Act, and statements from senators and actors about what Girl Up has been doing around the world. Sponsored by the United Nations Foundation, Girl Up has influenced the lives of more than 20,000 adolescent girls in developing countries and plans to continue affecting and improving the lives of as many girls as possible.

“You see a girl. We see the future.” – Girl Up Motto