While most people take for granted the shirt on their backs, there are young girls in third-world countries who would be thankful for any clothing – or better yet, a chance to wear a beautiful Yellow Prom Dresses. At Dress a Girl Around the World, a campaign under Hope 4 Women International, the goal is to provide dresses and bring dignity to females around the globe. The campaign provides a variety of vintage prom dresses that not only serve as an endorsement for self-esteem, but can also keep girls safe from victimization. According to the ambassador of the Southern Maine Dress a Girl campaign, Jackie Dewey of Cape Neddick, giving a dress to a young girl in Kenya or Haiti could mean changing her life destiny. “We have been told by a priest (who) administers in these areas that girls that are properly dressed are less likely to be sexually abused,” Dewey said. “Most girls in those circumstances are undervalued, and typically molested as young as 3 years old. “We feel that by putting them in pretty dresses, they appear cared for, and from there, they can build up a strong self-esteem.” On March 26, people in southern Maine will join others from across the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Uganda and more by gathering for a day of sewing dresses out of pillowcases and fabric. They gather in living rooms, basements, backyards, schools churches, civic centers – wherever they can – to support a cause they believe in. Last year, the southern Maine chapter made more than 725 dresses for girls in Kenya and the Dominican Republic. Since its inception in 2006, the international organization has distributed an estimated 450,000 dresses to more than 82 countries. By working closely with traveling sources such as people on medical missions in Kenya, Uganda or Haiti, Dewey is able to get an idea of where to distribute dresses. It’s important to know which countries will be accepting of donations, she said, because regardless of the intent, some people just don’t want them. “I’ve learned that you need to make sure that they want the dresses,” she said. “Just because we look at them and see poverty doesn’t mean they feel they need them. It’s like looking at a homeless person and thinking they need a home. They may not want one.” Regardless of this hurdle, Dewey and the many southern Maine volunteers work hard to provide necessities to children in developing countries, many of whom live in extreme poverty. In Guatemala, Dewey said, a multi-generational family of 12 can put all their clothes on one hook, and malnutrition has resulted in a growth stunt of adults reaching an average height of just 4 feet. In addition to dresses, the Southern Maine Dress a Girl campaign collects other items such as old McDonald’s Happy Meal Beanie Babies as small as a child’s palm so little girls can have something to sleep with at night. “We also had a Girl Scout troop donate toothbrushes, and it’s more than likely that brushes are being used by the whole family because of the poverty they find themselves in,” Dewey said. For Dewey, the desire to help others comes from an incident that happened to her as a young adult. A survivor of a college rape, she believes that if the simple act of putting a dress on a girl will help prevent them from having a similar experience, it’s well worth her time. “In developing or poor countries, they’re not likely to have any medical attention when someone is raped – they just move on, that’s it, that is the culture of the land,” she said. By providing a dress, “you’re not handing her a piece of clothing, but instead telling her she’s valued.”
