Risking it all to own her future
Emily, 13, had no idea she was growing up in one of the most violent countries in the world.
Elevated levels of crime, poverty and instability are among the top reasons many leave El Salvador, in search of someplace safer to call home.
But Emily was happy in the rural community where she lived with her family. Then COVID-19 came along, and everything changed.
The pandemic has intensified the challenges girls were already facing. Your support is needed now more than ever.
Will you give to girls today?
When Emily’s father lost his job, the family lost their only source of income. Like most of the nearly 500,000 people who cross the border into Mexico each year, they left because they were out of options.
But that didn’t make it any easier to say goodbye to the only home Emily had ever known, or any less terrifying to set off for a place they’d never been before, in the midst of a global pandemic.
Migration routes to Mexico are treacherous — girls and their families are often preyed upon by criminal organizations. They struggle to find food, safe drinking water, shelter and other basic services.
Girls like Emily are at risk of losing everything. Your year-end gift can help to ensure that no girls are left behind.
Emily’s family made it to Mexico, but starting over is difficult. Through Plan’s Protected Passage program, we’re helping girls like Emily settle in to their new life, providing essential supplies like hygiene kits, information on how to stay healthy during a pandemic and debit cards to buy groceries.
Emily hopes to join a girls’ soccer team and is excited to return to school. “If I was studying now, then it would mean that I know what to be in the future,” Emily says. “But I still do not know.”
Girls like Emily deserve to be safe, educated and prepared to choose their own futures.
Will you make your most generous gift of the year today? Your year-end gift to Plan International USA will be used where needed most, to help create sustainable change and address the root causes of poverty and inequality. Donations can support the programs, innovation and infrastructure required to deliver our programs to girls and children worldwide, in areas such as protection, education, health, sanitation, disaster relief and economic empowerment.
Thank you for being there for girls when they need you most.