Sarah Ireland Do It In A Dress Interview

Thousands Of Aussies Dress For Change On International Day Of The Girl

One Girl's Do It In A Dress campaign has launched for the eighth consecutive year, with the aim to raise over $500,000 to educate girls in two of the most challenging places in the world to be born a girl; Sierra Leone and Uganda.

With over 130 million girls around the world denied access to an education, One Girl is encouraging Australian's to sign up and support the cause in a fun and creative way – by wearing a school dress and completing a challenge on the 11th of October 2019, International Day of the Girl.

Australians have surfed, hiked, cycled, snowboarded, pulled stunts and even gone to work in a dress, raising nearly $4 million since 2011. These funds have helped One Girl provide support across five key program areas including; providing access to quality education - in and out of the classroom,

supporting and inspiring future female role models, promoting health and menstrual hygiene and tackling period taboos, advocating for sexual rights, safe relationships and respect for girls, and championing gender equality by elevating the role and status of women and girls across the world.

One Girl CEO, Sarah Ireland, explains that educating girls lifts families and communities out of poverty, helps fght climate change and creates a real difference in the world.

"We are so excited to have officially launched Do It In A Dress for 2019 and can't wait to see all the challenges Aussies complete to raise awareness! Every dollar raised can make an incredible positive impact in a girl's life. $300 for example is enough to send a girl to school for an entire year and provide her with everything she needs from books, a school bag, shoes, uniforms, and even a light by which to do her homework," says Sarah.

Right now, only 16% of girls born in Sierra Leone are likely to complete high school and a girl is more likely to be married before she turns 18 than she is to finish high school.

"There's no denying that when a girl has the opportunity to have an education she can change her world. An educated girl will marry later, have smaller and healthier families, help prepare her family for climatic disasters and, for every year a girl stays in school, she'll increase her income by at least 10%, investing 90% of it back into her family," Sarah adds.

Funds raised from Do It In A Dress have changed thousands of lives, with One Girl supporting 501 girls with scholarships. Additionally, One Girl has assisted with the rebuild of schools and toilet facilities, provided over 12,152 girls and women with menstrual hygiene management education, educated 2,423 girls in water, sanitation and hygiene and provided 23,662 girls and boys with business educational skills through its Business Brains program.

Jennifer, who works at One Girl as a Fundraising Coordinator, is from Sierra Leone and was able to learn valuable business skills through a scholarship program just like One Girl's. She explains the impact people can have on the lives of those living in Sierra Leone:
"After my family became impoverished due to war, I had to leave school at the age of 11 and work to support my family. I realised the power of education when I was given the opportunity to go to school and then sponsored through university – my life has been completely transformed through education! I'm passionate about helping girls like me, who aren't given the same educational opportunities that many people in Australia have access to," says Jennifer.

"We want to encourage all Australians to get involved and wear a dress this year. A little goes a long way; $20 is enough to supply a girl in Sierra Leone and Uganda with two reusable sanitary pad kids that will last for three whole years, $50 is enough for a girl to recieve vocational and life skills training for three months, $160 is enough to run four local radio shows where girls and young women can talk about safe periods and help bust menstrual myths, $300 can give a girl access to an education for an entire year and $500 is enough for 16 girls to join a Girls' Club to learn about positive body image, relationships, financial literacy and leadership. Together, we can change the world one girl at a time," Sarah adds.

One Girl is calling on all Australians to stand up for every girl's right to an education - join the movement and sign up or donate via www.onegirl.org.au

Interview with Sarah Ireland, CEO of One Girl

Question: Can you tell us about Do It In A Dress?

Sarah Ireland: Do It In A Dress is a fun, unique and exhilarating annual campaign that One Girl runs, calling on Aussies to put on a school dress and get creative to raise funds and awareness for girls' education! This year was the eighth consecutive year and we're hoping to raise over $500,000 to educate girls in two of the most challenging places in the world to be born a girl; Sierra Leone and Uganda.

Australians have surfed, hiked, cycled, snowboarded and pulled all kinds of stunts in school dresses, raising nearly $4 million since 2011. This year we asked our fantastic fundraisers to get involved on International Day of the Girl (11th Oct), which is a day of celebration and appreciation for girls and young women.

At One Girl we don't want to stop there though – we do this every day of the year!


Question: How can Australians support Do It In A Dress?

Sarah Ireland: People all around Australia sign up, get their school dress and start raising funds.

Some people wear their dresses while jumping out of planes or running marathons, others wear their dresses to work or when hosting a bake sale. Whether it's doing something daring or just wearing the dress during an everyday activity, it's the simple act of putting on the school dress, advocating for girls' education and raising funds for One Girl's education programs which means that together, we can change the world, one girl at a time.


Question: How does Do It In A Dress support One Girl?

Sarah Ireland: When our passionate supporters Do It In A Dress and raise funds, they are supporting our education programs, which break down the barriers girls face in accessing education. Our mission is to harness the incredible power of education to drive change for girls and their communities.

We do this in five ways: we provide access to quality education – in and out of the classroom; we support and inspire future female role models; we promote health and menstrual hygiene and tackle period taboos; we advocate for sexual rights, safe relationships and respect for girls; and we champion gender equality by elevating the role and status of women and girls.


Question: What's a typical day like for you at One Girl?

Sarah Ireland: Being CEO in a small organisation means my day can be quite varied - some days it is working on the strategic direction of our programs with the International Programs Director; some days my head is deep in budgets, spreadsheets and board reports; and other days I'm packing dresses for the amazing participants of the Do It In A Dress campaign.
Every day I'm working alongside the team (both staff and our amazing volunteers!) to support them in their work, and to foster a space where everyone can be creative, do their best work, and create positive change for the 130 million girls who are out of school, simply because they are a girl.


Question: Can you explain how educating girls through One Girl can change the world?

Sarah Ireland: When you educate a girl, everything changes. Globally educating girls has been recognised as the single most effective thing we can do to solve some of the world's most complex problems – it's the key to eliminating gender inequality, reducing poverty, and stopping the spread of preventable illnesses.

It fights climate change, makes whole families healthier, and its impact can be felt generation after generation after generation. When a girl is educated, her income increases by as much as 25% for every year she stays in school – and a whopping 90% of it is reinvested back into her family. With an education, she is more likely to have a smaller, healthier family when she's ready, and her health, economic status, and future family all benefit. This is the power of education.


Question: What message did you hope to spread for International Day of the Girl?

Sarah Ireland: When provided with knowledge and skills, girls and young women are remarkable forces for change. Time and again we see them sharing their knowledge with others to create a ripple effect across entire communities. We see them working together to remove barriers and lead the way so other girls don't have to fight to go to school, to get a job, or to make decisions over their own bodies. This is the power of girls.

There are so many girls around the world who are truly unstoppable " there are more girls today attending and completing school, fewer are getting married or becoming mothers while still children and more are gaining the skills they need to excel in this ever-evolving world. International Day of the Girl is a day to listen to these amazing girls and young women.


Question: What's next for One Girl?

Sarah Ireland: We have had such amazing support from the One Girl community during this Do It In A Dress campaign, and we want to keep growing it next year to allow us to reach even more girls with access to education.

An education doesn't just mean getting girls into the classroom - it means providing them with all the knowledge and tools they need to succeed inside and outside of the classroom because we know that when you educate a girl, everything changes!


Interview by Brooke Hunter