The Girls for Plan foundation officially exists since 2010 as a foundation trust of the Kinderhilfswerk Plan (Plan International). Upon the creation of the foundation, two crucial goals were set: one for the foundation itself, which was written into the foundation’s constitution, and one for foundation members.
Firstly, the Girls for Plan foundation wants to help create a world in which children, young adults and their families do not suffer from poverty, and can develop healthily and freely. Girls for Plan envisages a world in which children, young adults and their families are treated with respect and dignity; for this reason, the needs, rights and wishes of those that the foundation seeks to support are central to all aid projects that are supported by the foundation. The foundation particularly aims to support girls who suffer from the consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM) and to raise awareness about this ritual. In so doing, the foundation wants to especially advance gender equality for girls and young women, and to promote access to education.
Further to the aforementioned goal, which enables social workers to locally raise awareness in the communities and/or tribes to prevent female genital mutilation in Africa, this project secondly aims to introduce teenagers in Germany to important social responsibility.
Girls for Plan was originally created from a desire to change something and to actively engage with a long-term project. This desire still exists today. Since the formation of the foundation, however, a few things have changed, especially us, the members. The foundation wants to track this development and follow its members as their lives develop too. The life stages and goals of the foundation members influence the path of the foundation, so that the latter can develop alongside our own lives. Thus, in early 2016 we decided to no longer focus on projects that tackle FGM, but to expand into new territories. These new projects are always elected democratically, and always reflect the life stage of the foundation’s members.