A great friend of ours Ms Nana Duncan has kindly accepted our offer to do some guest blogging spots on Coco and Lowe and this month she is on tour with Because I Am A Girl.  Nana is a journalist who works for CBC Radio One and is one of the smartest most multi-talented women I know! Welcome Nana!!  Check out her story below. Take it away Nana!!

I have to be honest.  When I took on the gig to host the 411 TV: Because I Am A Girl school tour, one of the first things I thought was – Ooh!  I have to buy new clothes!

I know.  Silly and vacant, but so true.  I swear the thought only lasted a second.

Back when I was working in Ghana covering stories on human rights issues, I quickly learned how girls and women are treated.  Ghanaian women are strong, but much of the country’s government and cultural norms still place women below men.   Through my preparation for this tour I’ve learned that girls in developing countries who are supported through education, respect and encouragement can not only flourish, they grow whole communities.  And since seventy per cent of the people living on less than a dollar a day (about 1.5 million) are female, ending poverty should start with them.

A couple of years ago when I was jobless and restless, volunteering was a welcome activity – a much better use of my time than eating popcorn (yum) and watching Stacey make everyone on What Not To Wear look like herself (you don’t think so?? Come on).  I helped with a few organizations, wondering which cause touched me most.

What I learned is that I don’t really care which charity I work with.  I just want to help, and helping feels good.  During the tour I’ll be talking to teens about how girls their age in developing countries are taking charge to change their situations, and how teens in Canada can help out.  The tour happens to be supported by Plan Canada, and they’ve done a pretty good job with their Because I Am A Girl campaign.  They want to make September 22 National Day of The Girl.  Not a bad idea!  If you’re down, you can sign the petition at www.becauseiamagirl.ca.

Eternia, myself and Masia One after our first stop on the tour!

Here’s one of their videos.  To the friends of mine who might be reading this, yes, that’s my voice at the end.

And yes, I did go shopping.

Nana