How the WTD fund will be used

Donate to WAGGGS for World Thinking Day and help other girls and young women around the world!

As World Thinking Day in 2012 focuses on environmental sustainability, it is important to acknowledge that girls and women are disproportionately affected by environmental issues around the world:

• Without the right to own land, women are often denied access to technologies and resources such as water resources, irrigation services, credit, extension, and seeds, which strengthen their capacity to manage natural resources in a more sustainable manner.
• Water contamination and deforestation increase the time women must spend, and often the distance they must travel, to secure fuel and water.
• Women are most often the primary users, providers, and managers of water in rural households, and guardians of household hygiene.
• With improved access to safe drinking water, women have more time to earn income, girls are more likely to attend school, family health and hygiene are im­proved, and women suffer less from the burden of carrying heavy loads.
• Lack of safe, private, nearby sanitation facilities ex­poses women to harassment, assault and erodes their dignity.
• Because of their higher levels of dependence on local natural resources for their liveli­hood, women are disproportionately affected by extreme weather events resulting from climate change.

WAGGGS works to ensure that Girl Guides and Girl Scouts everywhere are able to act as agents of change within their communities, finding ways to address these issues. We believe in empowering girls through a three-step process of belonging, leadership and advocacy. With your help to raise much needed funds through World Thinking Day, WAGGGS will continue to develop Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting around the world and make this possible.

With your support to the World Thinking Day fund we will:

1. Increase each girl’s sense of self through peer support and a place to belong

2. Increase her confidence by helping her develop as a leader

3. Increase her impact by teaching her effective advocacy, giving her a platform to speak from and encouraging her to take action on the issues that matter for her and those around her

For World Thinking Day 2012 we have identified five countries (one from each region in which WAGGGS operates) to showcase what Girl Guides and Girl Scouts are doing to help achieve environmental sustainability and support these countries to have a long term, practical and beneficial impact on the communities in which they live. The five focus countries are:

• Guyana (Western Hemisphere Region)
• Ivory Coast (Africa Region)
• Japan (Asia Pacific Region)
• Russia (Europe Region)
• Tunisia (Arab Region)