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Ten-year-old Eleanor has a big dream: to help girls like her receive quality education in Papua New Guinea.
Eleanor, a Girl Guide from Brisbane, has entered the SunSuper Dream competition as a way of attaining her Junior BP Award for Girl Guides and with the aim of winning the $5000 prize to donate to UNICEF.
When asked about what motivated her to enter the SunSuper Dream competition, Eleanor says without hesitation “Girl Guides has helped me to challenge myself, to recognize that I can do anything I want to if I try hard enough, and that I can help people less fortunate than me.”
“I found out about UNICEF from my Girl Guides leader. I looked on the UNICEF website and was really interested by the work that UNICEF does for girls who have none of the nice things and a home like I have, so I was really interested to see what I could give them to help with healthcare and education. Then I heard from my Girl Guides leader about the SunSuper Dream competition, so I thought that I would have a go at winning the money for UNICEF.”
Proudly wearing her newest Bronze Endeavor badge on the front of her sash, Eleanor continues to explain.
“I know how lucky I am to live in a nice place, go to a good school and have a good family and home. I wanted to help other girls who have far less than me to get a good education so that they can get a good job and look after their families in the future.”
Currently, about half of Papua New Guinea’s primary school-aged children are out of school and almost 60 per cent of these children do not complete primary school. The gender gap is also the highest in the Pacific; for every 100 boys in secondary schools there are only 65 girls.
Needless to say, UNICEF’s work in children’s education for our closest neighbors remains a priority and UNICEF is continually grateful for the continued support from the community.
Via – unicef.org.au