Dare to Dress: Ravenswood supports girls’ education in Africa

Ravenswood School for Girls held a ‘Do it in a Dress’ event on Wednesday to raise money for the education of girls in Africa.

Ravenswood Chaplain, Rev. Jon Humphries was one of the staff members who dressed in the school uniform in support of the cause.

“Ravenswood is a passionate supporter of girl’s education.

“Our Student Representative Council demonstrate how the Uniting Church passion for social justice meshes well for this as they organised a ‘Do It in a Dress’ event,” said Rev. Humphries.

‘Do it in a Dress’ is an initiative of an Australian charity One Girl based in Melbourne. Currently, there are over 60 million girls globally that have never had the opportunity to attend school. One Girl focuses on two countries in Africa, Sierra Leone and Uganda, where girls are more likely to become child brides than go to school.

So far in these African Nations, One Girl has established 425 scholarships, educating thousands of women and girls on menstrual health, making sure schools have adequate sanitary systems, as well as enabling small business start-ups. In these two countries alone the charity has reached 29, 462 women and girls.

Events such as the one held at Ravenswood ensure that One Girl can continue to give women and girls a chance with the invaluable gift of education.

As well as several Ravenswood staff wearing dresses, a group of staff also performed at the ‘Legends in Their Lunchtime’ concert that was organised for the event. The gold coin donations collected from students and staff from the event will go to the ‘Do It in a Dress’ project.

To find out how you can organize a ‘Do it in a Dress’ event or for more information about the initiative click here. 

Melissa Stewart