‘I am 21: No gifts please’

Reaching 21 years is a milestone in one’s life. You are then considered an adult. Even if boys don’t much care to celebrate, for a girl it’s a big day. Friends and relations are invited to share an eventful day in her life. She is showered with gifts – mostly expensive ones – and everyone has a good time.

In such a context it’s almost unbelievable that a girl who decided to celebrate with a ‘high tea’ refuses to expect gifts. She invites friends and well-wishers but encloses a polite note accompanying the invitation asking them not to bring gifts.

Her ‘Note about gifts…’ said: “There are over 130 million girls around the world who are out of school today. I want to do something about it, but I need your help. This year, instead of a gift, I ask you to bring the money you would have spent to put into our donation box. All the money will then be donated to Malala Fund to help towards 12 years of education for every girl. To learn more about Malala Fund and what they do please visit: https://www.malala.org.”

One side of the note carried a quote from Malala: “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world”. 

To recall the story of the Pakistani girl Malala, in October 2012, a masked Taliban gunman boarded Malala’s school bus and shot the 15-year old girl in the head, neck and shoulder. It was because she was campaigning against Taliban’s ruling banning girls from going to school. Though she survived she was in a critical condition and was transported to the United Kingdom for treatment. After multiple surgeries and months of rehabilitation, she was discharged from the hospital and re-joined her family at home in Birmingham, U.K.

She soon became an international figure and on her 16th birthday she addressed the United Nations. Determined to continue the campaign for girls’ education, Malala and her father set up the Malala Fund, an organisation dedicated to give all girls access to education. Over the next few years, Malala met with girls around the world and many heads of state, carrying her message of girls’ education and equality.

She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015.

To get back to the birthday girl’s effort, the response was most encouraging. The donation box was emptied several times. In spite of her request, some guests brought her gifts but they all deposited money in the donation box too. 

A ‘Thank you’ card sent by her carried a short message: “Your donation on the day contributed to $ 3,000 which will now go towards 12 years of free, safe, quality education to all girls around the world with the help of the Malala Fund. Thank you for helping me make a difference.”

Response

The money was sent to the Fund and there was a prompt response from Erin Gore, Associate Director of Malala Development Fund. “Thanks for your support. It means the world to us!” he had written in his own handwriting after signing a typed reply. 

The reply letter states: “Your investment in Malala Fund will help to ensure that all girls receive a quality secondary education – a right missed out by nearly 130 million girls worldwide. Our efforts depend on individuals like you and the entire team is thrilled for what we will accomplish together in 2017.”

The letter refers to the launch of their signature initiative, the Gulmakai Network. (‘Gulmakai’, incidentally, is the pen name used to protect Malala’s identity.) The Network grants will help activists to get Syrian refugee girls back in school. E-learning packages will be developed for girls living in rural communities in Nigeria. Adolescent Pakistani girls will be trained to advocate for their right to education. They are the next generation of Malalas. The Network, coupled with Malala Fund’s advocacy efforts, will result in immediate and long term changes that allow more girls to complete secondary education. 

“You are an important part of this mission; a mission that aims to become the last generation to see a girl denied the right to her education. Please accept our gratitude and deep appreciation for being part of Malala’s work and vision for girls’ education globally,” the letter concludes.

P.S: The girl is my granddaughter, a final year university student in Sydney, Australia.