This April, John Hanson student, Olivia Palmer and her mum are walking 100 miles for the charity CARE. The 13year old is hoping to raise at least £50 as part of helping to achieve a more equal world. The charity aims to help save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice for women and girls around the world.
Olivia’s mother is joining her on this challenge who says “Olivia is a very strong minded young women, when she came to me one evening asking me why she can’t wear certain clothes without men thinking she’s giving consent, I was shocked. We spoke about how if is to be a women in society these days and the conversation then explored other areas of the world. Olivia couldn’t believe how ‘unfair’ life can be for some women. Olivia isn’t someone who will accept inequality and wanted to do something to help and change what she had learnt.”
“A strong focus of CARE’s work is on supporting women and girls who are denied basic human rights. They have limited access to health care, to an education, to the opportunity to earn a living. They are denied a say in the decisions that affect their future. But when women are healthier, their children and families are healthier. When girls get an education, they build better lives for themselves and their families. And when women have an income, they invest in their children and families, creating benefits for this generation and the next.”
Olivia told Andover Radio 95.5fm “I would like to raise as much as I can to make a difference to other women, my mum has always taught me to stand up for what I believe in. I feel very strongly about giving women more rights so they can experience more in life, I would also encourage others to get involved, it costs nothing to get started, just sign up and get started straight away. If we all do our bit then we can make change happen.”
Olivia and her mum have joined thousands of women to walk 100 miles throughout April, which equates to 211200 steps, which sounds a lot, Olivia said “We worked out that we only need to walk about 3/4 miles a day. We have a dog so I use those steps to count towards my daily miles, some days we do more and some we do less, but its not much really when some girls my age have to walk further than that just to get water for their family. I just want to do my little bit to help and create awareness. I’m glad that my mum is supporting me to help others”
If you would like to support and donate to Olivia please click Here
