I think we can all agree that part of traveling is experiencing other cultures. Whether you are diving head first into regional cuisines and living with the locals or just donning a sundress and an umbrella drink on a cruise ship, in some way, we all try to get a little more native in the places we visit.
But the most important part of the cultural experience, the part I think is most overlooked and forgotten is actually seeing how people live- economically, socially- and being aware of the fact that it’s not always perfect. Which brings me to my next point:
Before I leave for my travels, a good chunk of which will take places in Africa, I am running the Tallahassee half marathon for One Girl, an Australian organization that aims to fight for women and girls in Sierra Leone, West Africa to be educated, and therefore, better their lives. The fact is- girls in Sierra Leone are more likely to be raped than to go to school. That alone should inspire those of us who take our education and our relative safety for granted to help One Girl with their mission. Through community outreach and education, One Girl hopes to change the lives and better the situations of the women and girls in Sierra Leone, and one of the ways they reach out for the help of others is through Do It In A Dress, a project in which individuals raise money doing, well, just about anything, in a school girl’s dress.
It’s really amazing. People have played rock shows, skateboarded, gone to work for a week or more, sailed around Turkey for two weeks, thrown dinner parties- all in a school girl’s dress. Men and women, kids and adults, from all over the world, joining together to help educate and invest in the futures of young women. And now, I’m doing it too!
The half marathon isn’t until February, but obviously I want to raise all the awareness I can-
you can donate to my cause here and help me send six girls back to school with money leftover for community outreach for women in Sierra Leone who need healthcare in its most basic form- just a simple sanitary pad, which most women in the western world take for granted everyday- is a lifesaving, life changing element in the betterment of the lives of the women of West Africa.
So check out my page, check out the cause and DONATE.
Then spread the word to your family and friends. Invest in these women, you’ll never regret it. 
erin on earth 