When I was an editor with New Moon: The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams, I came across the organization School Girls Unite, which helps African girls in Mali go to school. School Girls Unite is comprised of a group of about 40 girls -- half of them in Mali, and half of them in the U.S., who work to raise awareness and money for girls' education. The School Girls Unite girls in Mali are some of the few educated girls in that country, and their focus is to help their "sisters" also go to school.

The U.N. has declared Mali one of 25 countries in the world needing "emergency action" on educating girls. Right now, the outlook for girls' education in Mali is grim: only 20% of girls go to high school, and a mere 2% go on to university. Moreover, 65% of all girls in Mali are given as child brides when they are under the age of 18. Many girls become pregnant shortly after marriage, and adolescent mothers are 5 times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s. Increasing a girl's access to education decreases the chance that she will become a child bride and can literally save her life.

In Mali, your donation can go a long way. $60 can cover everything a girl needs -- from uniforms to tuition -- for a full year of school. I'm hoping to raise $120 to send a girl in Mali to school for two years. Please join me! 

[Note: School Girls Unite is a Non-Profit organization (tax ID - 75-3163810) and donations made to School Girls Unite are tax deductable.]