Build a girl leader

"I stayed calm and guided my brothers and sisters out safely."

"I showed my mom the emergency ‘go-bag’ and we got it ready last year after I learned about it.  We had enough basic food and goods to help us manage for three or four days after having to leave our broken-down house." 

As many of you are aware, a series of devastating 7+ magnitude earthquakes struck around Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar, just one month ago.  The earthquakes caused widespread destruction including loss of life and livelihoods for an estimated 17 million people.  Its impacts compound the already deteriorating political, economic, educational, and safety realities that have enveloped the country since the military takeover in February 2021. 

While we felt the ground move around the country, those in the Mandalay and Sagaing Regions lost their homes and livelihoods.  Roads buckled, walls crumbled, and the lights went dark.

We are relieved to report that all our colleagues there are physically safe, connected, and already taking action.

Here’s what we have already done:  

We Prepared. We take some relief in knowing we were ready for this. 

• We trained thousands of girls and young women leaders in basic emergency preparation, psychological first aid, needs assessment, peer mobilization, and reporting. In 2024 alone, we reached 4,300 girls with an emergency preparedness curriculum that is helping them stay calm and organized.
• We have a well-known reporting and rapid response system. Girls and young women know how to reach us and are getting in touch. Girl leaders reported from affected villages, city neighborhoods, and nunnery/monastic centers, telling us about their situation and what their communities need.  
• We have a flexible, decentralized management structure that supports quick decisions and localized leadership. 

Here’s what comes now: 

We Respond. As phone lines and transportation routes reopen, we are supporting girls and young women to lead by providing resources, tools, and referrals. Girls and young women leaders are assessing the needs in their community and requesting specific and targeted support. We will pull all the levers to get that support to them.

Across 40 affected communities, we have an existing network of:

• 6,000-8,000 girls and young women
• 85 women leads 

We Care. Our response will be nested in our ongoing community-based work. This urgent and necessary work now will contribute toward long-term change, namely the safety and well-being of girls and women.

We will continue to do what we know. 

We will utilize the networks we have built. 

We will work with local assets, including safe places, goods, and services. 

We will support our greatest asset, our girls, who, through our programs, have grown their confidence and skills to meet this moment. 

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We are also pleased to share with you our beautifully illustrated research report, “Thank you, big sister, for listening to me.”  This is a culmination of girl-led peer research that we have been working on over the past few years which provides some unique insight into the lives of girls in Myanmar.  The innovative process covered seven key topics of study: education disruption, safety and security, relationships and marriage, digital media use and exposure, involvement in chores, menstrual hygiene practices, and nutrition.

We would love to hear any feedback or comments you might have and would be grateful if you would share this report with anyone you think might be interested.

Thank you for your continued support and solidarity, 

– All of us from the Girl Determined Team

Links:

• "Thank you, big sister, for listening to me." A Research Report
• "Deepening our impact with and for girls" GD Annual Report 2023
• Myanmar - Humanitarian Situation (reliefweb)