How to Give

Posted on October 16, 2011 by margoday

Thank you for your desire to make an undeniable difference in the lives of many girls in Kenya through the Kenya Vulnerable Girls Education project.  I had committed in a previous post to share how you might give.  Here’s two ways:

1.  If you are a Microsoft employee, you can do so via the Microsoft Employee Giving Site: Login to http://give ; click on Match Now
 Search for “World Vision International” ; Add to cart
 Go to Cart ; Enter gift details
 IMPORTANT: Enter “Kenya Girls” in Purpose field
Remember to request Microsoft matching funds to double your gift!

2.  The second way to give is via my peronsal campaign site hosted by SeeYourImpact … please visit http://seeyourimpact.org/members/margo 100% of your donation will go directly to World Vision and will be designated to the Kenya Vulnerable Girls Education project.   On this page, you will also see a 3 1/2 minute video describing the first school project, St. Elizabeth’s Secondary School for Girls.

I’m on London right now, making my way back to the US this afternoon.  I am working on my next blog post about the existing schools we saw, and the children we met.  I’ll post it middle this week, as I would like to put in a few photos so you can see what I saw.

But, here’s a taste 🙂 …  One little girl, Nancy, walks 16km to primary school as it’s the closest one.  She leaves her home at 4am to walk the 16km to get to school by 7am.  Amazing.  I was so struck by her strong will to become educated that she would walk that far most days.  I was also struck that, in a culture where girls are valued for the dowry they will bring when married, Nancy’s parents would actually support her to go to school.

Seeing Nancy and others like her, and knowing there are parents who right now support education for their girls if there’s a way, gives me confidence that with more schools and more teachers we can make an impact on the lives of several thousand girls.

About margoday

Margo Day is a life-long change-maker. She was first introduced to coding as a senior in high school and has paved the way for women in technology ever since. Margo has had a stunning 34-year career in the tech industry, 17 of which were spent as a senior leader at Microsoft, including most recently as Vice President of U.S. Education, where she focused on building up partnerships and breaking down barriers. She has been a steadfast leader and mentor to women and girls throughout her life, and has devoted much of her energy towards achieving gender equality globally. To that end, Margo has spent the past decade fighting to eliminate child marriage and FGM and creating a cycle of advocacy and prosperity for women and girls in Kenya through supporting projects by World Vision and Global Give Back Circle. As a member of the Board of Directors for Global Give Back Circle, and of the National Leadership Council for World Vision, Margo’s dedication to transformational change has been instrumental in funding these programs and advocating for their growth so that they can continue to enact positive change for women and girls throughout Kenya. Having seen what can be done when resources are applied strategically, Margo left her position at Microsoft to co-found the Mekuno Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the root causes of child marriage and FGM within a generation and empowering girls to thrive in futures they design through quality education, child protection, community transformation, and economic empowerment. Mekuno Project partners with international NGOs who have proven track records of success, supporting them through advocacy, marketing, and fundraising. In her personal time, Margo enjoys backpacking, boating, cycling, scuba diving, skiing, golf, adventure travel and, when it’s rainy outside, attending concerts and theater as well as enjoying a great glass of wine.
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