Local volunteers join campaign for underprivileged girls

A global campaign “Dress a Girl Around the World”, which is under the Hope 4 Women International organization and led by a Portuguese Volunteer, is currently making its mark in Macau.

The campaign aims to provide at least one dress for each of the underprivileged and vulnerable girls across the most deprived countries.

Leading the project in the region, Ana Cristina Vilas told the Times that the efforts of her team are still in the early stages but have so far been successful in acquiring fabrics.

According to her, she has acquired over one hundred yards of fabrics – donated by her friends and people interested in the global campaign.

“Until now we have had a lot of people willing to help. My house is full of garments. I’m satisfied because people are doing something to help us,” she said.

On April 4, Vilas’ team will hold a “solidarity event” at Casa de Portugal – the first gathering where volunteers will come together to sew the dresses.

According to the organizer, the event is set to attract 14 volunteers from the Portuguese community.

Vilas also reiterated that she refuses to receive money for purchasing fabrics, stressing that the project does not involve any financial transactions.

“It’s difficult because sometimes people won’t believe whether the money will be used for that project or not, so we just accept new fabrics,” Vilas explained.

The local team must follow the guidelines of the global campaign, including prohibitions against the use of black, white and transparent fabrics, and the requirement that all fabrics should be cotton.

The dresses produced by the “Dress a Girl Around the World” initiative targets underprivileged girls from 2 to 14 years of age.

Each dress contains a pocket tagged with the organization’s label, which marks the children as being protected by the non-government association in order to prevent crimes such as rape and human trafficking from being committed against minors.

An undergarment will also be included in the pockets of the dresses.

The local team hopes to produce 200 to 300 dresses by September. According to Vilas, the group intends to send the dresses to countries such as Cambodia, the Philippines, and Nepal.

When asked whether the group is seeking partnerships with local associations to hasten the campaign’s growth in Macau, Vilas noted that there are no such plans currently, as the global campaign solely works with volunteers.

Vilas, who has volunteered in a number of other charitable activities in the region, also mentioned the group’s significance in taking part in this global campaign. She is delighted that people in the region can contribute towards the happiness of underprivileged and vulnerable children.

“We don’t get old or unworn clothes or those that are kind of used. Everything has to be new. […] This is the objective of the project: that all girls in the world can have one new dress,” she concluded.

Vilas also manages a Facebook group named “Dress a Girl Around the World – Macau,” which currently has 675 members.

According to the website of the global initiative, “Dress a Girl Around the World” has delivered over 500,000 dresses to 81 countries.