When I visited World Vision centres in the slums of Dhaka, I expected to learn something. What I didn’t expect was to be transformed. I was in Bangladesh filming a docuseries when I had the chance to see the work World Vision is doing. These centres aren’t just places for aid, but for empowerment. I met teenagers learning to take control of their futures, to break generational cycles. This work doesn’t just change lives, it changes communities. It changes everything.
Bangladesh is a huge part of who I am. My father is from there. I’m Bengali-Australian, and I grew up visiting every year. To be able to give back, particularly to girls, felt deeply personal. Whether it’s one girl or a thousand, I want to use my voice to help elevate theirs. One of the most powerful moments came when teenagers bravely shared their stories: child labour, marriage, domestic violence.
A boy described seeing his friends go to school every morning while he went to work in a shop. “I was ashamed,” he said quietly. I met a girl who, at just 14, was being pressured to marry. It was only through the strength she gained at her local World Vision centre that she found the courage and the words to change her parents’ minds.
That one decision changed the course of her life. At the sexual and reproductive health group, girls spoke with clarity about menstruation and the barriers it creates. Shared toilets, no bins, no privacy. Many miss a week of school every month. One said, “I deserve to go to school.” And she’s right. The most moving part? The boys in the room were listening, learning, backing them.
These kids aren’t just being helped, they’re helping each other. I saw a 20-year-old girl educating teens about consent and periods. I saw environmental campaigns run entirely by youth – kids who go to school, work jobs, and still find time to lead. They’re not just thinking about their own streets, but their country. That kind of leadership is rare. That kind of resilience? It’s revolutionary.
As the mother of a 16-year-old, it enraged me to hear how kids are manipulated into labour, addiction and abuse. But through World Vision, they are reminded they are worth more than this. They deserve better. Since returning, I haven’t stopped talking about what I saw, because I believe that when faced with the truth most people want to act. We may live in different lives, but we share the same world. The only difference between my child and a child in a slum is a stroke of luck: where we’re born, the lives we inherit.
We all have a responsibility to make sure all children get to dream. That they get to grow up safely, with dignity, with possibility. These kids, they are my heroes. Not because they reflect my own journey, but because they’ve shown me what courage really looks like. I came in as a role model. I left humbled. Changed. Grateful. And determined to make sure their voices are heard. World Vision is on a mission to get 1000 girls sponsored by October 11, International Day of the Girl. If the world were made up of just 1000 girls, 188 would be child brides, 126 would have left school early, and 65 would be labourers.
Sponsoring a girl means standing up for her rights, helping keep her in school, and giving her the power to shape her future. Together, we can rewrite the story for 1000 girls.
To mark International Day of The Girl, join marie claire in Sydney for an electrifying evening celebrating the strength, resilience, and unstoppable power of fearless female leaders – all in support of World Vision’s 1000 Girls campaign.
We’re on a mission to re-write the future for girls around the world – because every girl deserves to live free from fear. Tickets to the exclusive evening are available here.
