Caring Causes: Friends of Hands Off Our Girls

 The members and officers of the Friends of Hands Off Our Girls Campaign cordially invite you to our launch and fundraiser event to support this initiative to protect young girls and women in Sierra Leone who are subjected to all forms of violence and abuse.

The Hands Off Our Girls Campaign is the flagship program of The First Lady of Sierra Leone, Her Excellency Fatima Maada Bio. This campaign was launched in December 2018 to bring awareness, influence policy, and support women and girls to have access to reproductive healthcare and treatment for conditions like Fistula and Cancer, and to eliminate such abuses like early childhood marriage, gender-based violence, and rape. 

This campaign is very personal to the First Lady, as she was a victim of Early Childhood Marriage herself. Since launching the campaign, she has toured the entire nation, meeting with Paramount Chiefs, Imams, Pastors, and Tribal Leaders to sensitize the nation on the impact of these issues affecting women and girls.

The First Lady’s advocacy has had considerable success improving the quality of life for young girls and women in Sierra Leone and empowering them to speak out against being abused, evident in the increase in police department reports about rape and gender-based violence.  Their voices are now being heard when they report sexual predators and abusers in their homes and communities.

Further, the First Lady’s campaign has been recognized by the African Union as a champion for empowerment of girls and women in neighboring countries of Africa.

Below are some of the Hands Off Our Girls Campaign achievements to date:

• The Sexual Offence Act was updated in September 2019, now requiring a 15-year minimum imprisonment for a rape conviction, up dramatically from a 2-year maximum incarceration. 
• Conviction for child rape has been updated to life imprisonment from a 2-year maximum sentence. 
• A Fast-Track Special Court for rape cases was launched in 2020, which turns cases around within a week compared to a previous two-year wait. 
• The campaign sponsored and facilitated training 40 medical doctors to treat rape cases and testify in court, up dramatically from just one doctor in the entire country. 
• Free sanitary pads were distributed to girls attending government and government-assisted schools in Sierra Leone, allowing them to maintain their education which was previously often interrupted during their period. 

The campaign is currently working on these initiatives: 

• Construction of a hospital with 100-beds, which is now 75% complete 
• Construction of a 7 building facility that will house survivors of rape and gender-based violence, provide counseling services, psychosocial support, medical treatments, and a family support unit. Which is now 50% complete.

We kindly request your generous donations to help continue those advances as well as our next campaign initiatives:

• Building a stand-alone forensic lab to deal specifically with rape cases, to provide forensic evidence that will reduce the waiting time to adjudicate rape cases. 
• Continuing to advocate for, and influence, policies, and legislation to deal with gender-based violence and early child marriage. 

This campaign by the Friends of the Hands Off Our Girls was founded by a group of friends and colleagues who have observed and appreciated the First Lady’s efforts. We are therefore hosting a Friends of Hands Off Our Girls Fundraiser to support this important work and to launch its awareness in the United States. 

We heartily invite you to join us in this effort.

We look forward to celebrating our launch and fundraiser event with you in Washington, DC, on Saturday, September 25, 2021, during the United Nations General Assembly week.

VENUE: Wyndham Hotel College Park North

4095 Powder Mill Road 

Beltsville, MD 20705

TIME: 1:00PM to 4:00PM EST

This event extends the awareness campaign about #HandsOffOurGirls held during the time of the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 (before COVID-19 pandemic in the USA) when the First Lady spoke at a major event at the United Nations, and at a celebration with several First Ladies of Africa, the First Lady of Turkey, and the World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros.

 

Donations can be made through the Give Them A Hand Foundation, a legally registered 501(c )(3) organization which serves as the fiscal conduit for this Fundraiser. All contributions are tax deductible to the extent permissible by federal law. The organization’s tax ID number: EIN 37-1533516. 

 

You may make your donation by going to the website WWW.GTAH.org and clicking on the donate button, which will take you to the relevant PayPal account. 

 

We have identified these categories for participation. Become a:

 

1. Nation Builder, with a contribution of $10,000 dollars or more, qualifying you to be named on the official program, to have a private one-on-one courtesy meeting with the First Lady, and receive a Certificate of Appreciation signed by the First Lady. Nation Builders are entitled to invite two guests. Further information will be provided regarding the details of these meetings. 
2. Platinum Donor, with a contribution of $5,000 dollars or more, qualifying you to be named on the official program, to participate in a group photo with the First Lady, and to receive a Certificate of Appreciation signed by the First Lady. Platinum donors are entitled to invite one guest.
3. Gold Donor, with a contribution of $1,000 dollars or more, qualifying you to be named on the official program and to receive a Certificate of Appreciation signed by the First lady.
4. Silver Donor, with a contribution of $500 dollars, qualifying you to be named on the official program.
5. You may secure a ticket to attend at a minimum contribution of $250 dollars. 

• If you are able to put together a table of seven (7) persons for this group, the ticket price for each person will be $200.   

1. Virtual Attendee Ticket, for a contribution of $50 dollars, qualifying you to have your name listed as an attendee.

• As attendance is limited, we are inviting individuals who wish to honor the First Lady and support her initiative to observe the event via Zoom. Tickets can be purchased here:  https://friendsofhandsoffourgirlsfundraiser.eventbrite.com/ 

 

You are most welcome to make a contribution of any amount whether or not you can attend the event.  You may make your donation by going to the website WWW.GTAH.org and clicking on the donate button.

 

 

All contributions are required by  September 20, 2021. No cash transactions are allowed on the day of the event. 

 

Please bring your donation acknowledgment letter for entry. 

 

Be reassured that the event will comply with all CDC COVID-19 protocols to ensure everyone’s safety. Therefore, valid COVID-19 vaccination cards and at-the-door temperature checks are required of all attendees.