A VOICE FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE

1/52 - I've got the whole world in my hands, originally uploaded by Little Thoughts.

We here at Girls in the Hall often get caught up in our own worlds. Fights with parents, boys breaking our hearts, and bad grades fill the halls of our minds, making us forget about the other towns, states and countries that comprise the rest of the globe.

In an effort to bridge that gap, Girls in the Hall plans to highlight several stories and reports of girls around the world. As a lot of us gathered our supplies, cell phones and car keys to head back to another year of school over the past couple of weeks, devastation struck the nation of Pakistan. Moonsoon rains have caused catastrophic floods that have killed more than 1,600 people, stranded thousands more, and ruined homes, crops and roads.

In our research about this tragedy, we came across a fascinating and devistating account of the floods written by 17 year old Pakistani Sher Bano for the New York Times. Click here to check it out. Sher is a courageous writer, detailing her own personal family accounts of the floods as well as acting as a voice for the nation as a whole.

Also, at the end of the article is a list of outstanding charities working to help the people of Pakistan. My friends and I plan on saving our allowance, watching a film on TV this weekend instead of going out to the movies, and holding off on our weekly trip to Starbucks, so we can make an impact in helping people like Sher and her family by donating to one of these charities. They are so far away, but hopefully close in our minds.