Shaping the Future

A recent World Vision report stated why it is crucial to support girl child issues: "Girls are the world's most squandered gift. They are precious human beings with enormous potential, but across the world, they are generally the last to have their basic needs met and the first to have their basic rights denied." The girl child quickly learns there is a high price to pay for being born a girl. Scripture declares that all children are a gift-an inheritance from God (Psalm 127:3). To reject the girl child, or to ascribe lesser importance to her, denies God's justice and character and the truth that all children are created in His image. For the girl child to reach her full potential, equipped for the responsibilities of adulthood, she needs to be nurtured in an empowering environment where her needs for survival, protection, and development are met and her rights of equality are safeguarded. Such an investment in the life of the girl child affects society's and the world's future. Shaping the Future: Girls and Our Destiny is a tool to help us understand the importance of and how to make such an investment. The book includes a global overview of girl child issues stemming from gender discrimination and explores the root causes for this disparity. Further, the writers lay a foundation for shaping our value of the girl child. The strategies discussed help the girl child surmount the barriers that prevent her from reaching her full, God-given potential and also result in her physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. A rosebud has been used to symbolize the life of the girl child. Rosebuds can be broken and trampled or allowed to bloom into beautiful roses. The challenge for us is to learn how we can help girls to bloom in spite of the obstacles, empowering them to embrace their full, God-given potential.