Photo credit: Deborah Lange

What do deckhands sailing on a boat off the Croatian coast…

…a dad and his two sons hiking the Rockies…

…and some marathon dudes have in common?

They are all doing it in a dress!

So what are these guys doing in school dresses?

They have all registered with Do It in a Dress, taken on a challenge and are raising awareness for the 60 million girls globally not in school. They are also raising funds to give girls scholarships to go to school in one of the poorest countries in the world—Sierra Leone.

Why?

David Dixon was working for World Vision, but he wanted to be hands on, so he travelled to four of the poorest countries in the world to find where they could help the best.

He found out that when you educate a female child, she is more likely to get a job, to marry later, have fewer children and make sure her children go to school. If she is not in school, she is likely to be sexually assaulted and married before she is 15-years-old. She will have many babies and not be able to feed them all and she will die young.

He made a choice. He made a stand for girls’ education. He co-founded One Girl with Chantelle Baxter and co-created the Do It in a Dress campaign to involve and inspire others to be a part of a global tribe that want to make a stand for female education all over the world.

He is leading the way for a new generation of men who have these leadership qualities in common:

1. They all have big hearts.

2. They all have courage.

3. They all know how to show their vulnerability.

4. They are all gentle warriors.

5. They are all just as comfortable talking about women’s periods as they are men’s stuff.

6. They are all compelled to take action.

7. They know how to have fun.

8. They take strange looks and insults on the chin.

9. They have all registered, chosen a challenge and they are doing it.

10. They all understand that in the poorest countries in the world, if a family has any money they educate the boy child first, so the girls need help from outside these countries to get scholarships for school.

11. They all believe that sexual abuse and violence against women is not okay.

12. They all know that $240 provides one girl with access to education—not very much money if you live in a western developed country, but if you are living in Sierra Leone on under $1 day, it is often too difficult to raise the money for all your children to go to school.

13. These guys know that the girls need a fair go.

And the other thing these guys have in common? They are all awesome.

Is this just a guy thing? Certainly not.

There are over 350 men and women champions of all ages creating a global tribe from Paris to Croatia, to Germany, to the U.S., to Canada, to New Zealand, to Australia. Kids at school, moms, dads and people young and old are leading the way for a global revolution and creating a global family to inform others about who needs a hand and to inspire people to take action.

For a girl to wear a school dress it is fun and amazing—yes, I am doing it. I wore my school dress to the airport, caught a plane and talked at a conference.

But for a guy to wear a school dress to create awareness for girls’ education, well it is pretty damn special, don’t you think?

These leaders have raised $67,240 in a month that will provide access to education for 280 girls, but they are not stopping at that. Are you an advocate for women and girls education? Join the global tribe and do it in a dress!

 

Deborah Lange’s journey has taken her down many paths—on each path, she deepens her own wisdom and ability to guide others to find their own truth. She aims to give others the courage and the freedom to live a life that makes them come fully alive! From a teacher to a high flying consultant, a housewife, a mother, a care giver for her dying mother, a mosaic artist, a facilitator, a gardener, a researcher, an investor, a roadie for an Irish harpist and more—now, as she grows into eldership, she sows the seeds she has gathered of truth and wisdom that can help others on their journey as she grows into her new role as an author. Email her at [email protected] or find her on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Editor: Jamie Morgan

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