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Name: Sagarika
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Age: 9
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"We didn't think it was right that men got all the rights," says Sagarika, aged 9. In April 2001, Sagarika gathered friends and schoolmates to start a club in support of women's human rights in the developing world. She invited both boys and girls to join the club, which the students named 'The Women's Rights Club'.
Sagarika started the Women's Rights Club after participating in a Philanthropy for Women's Rights workshop at the Global Fund for Women, which is a grantmaking foundation supporting international women's human rights in San Francisco. The workshop was conducted by Youth Philanthropy Worldwide as part of the Global Fund's Take Our Daughters To Work Day program.
"I just went and told everybody about it," the fourth-grader says enthusiastically. She told people that helping women and girls in other parts of the world is exciting and gives her a good feeling.
To raise money, Sagarika and other club members held bake sales and arts and crafts sales. In its first few month, the Women's Rights Club raised $23 which it donated to the Afghan Institute for Learning, which is dedicated to helping Afghan girls get an education despite many barriers. Sagarika learned about the Afghan Institute for Learning through the philanthropy workshop. The club also recently held a bake sale that raised about $180.00, which Sagarika and her fellow club members donated to the Friends of Needy Children, an organization that runs nearly forty orphanages in Sri Lanka.
Sagarika is concerned and confident about helping improve women's lives in other parts of the world. Her efforts have inspired teachers and other students at her school to initiate similar clubs and fundraising activities. Sagarika's future plans include more bake sales, a Christmas bazaar, and "a garage sale to sell everything I don't need anymore." She also wants to write books and make videos. She emphasizes that giving is very important.
"It's right to do it," Sagarika says. "I want to continue doing this for a long time."
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