I know, I know, you thought I was crazy doing it once, but alas – I have decided to do it all over again.  I have signed up to do Tough Mudder Sunshine Coast on Saturday 16th August 2014, but this time, I am going to do it in a dress.

But the dress isn’t just any old frock: it’s a school dress to be precise (on a side note, I am secretly hoping that the guy from TV show Arrow can help me with some upper-body strength training*sigh*).

When I did Tough Mudder last year, I didn’t really know what I was signing up for.  I didn’t know what 10,000 volts of electricity would feel like. I knew the ice bath would be cold (and it was!) and I didn’t mind the thought of the mud, but signing the death waiver was a bit of a worry. The obstacles were insane and we got very, very dirty, but we had a lot of fun.  The highlight was (of course) the finish line, but a close second was when the soles of a team mate’s shoes were literally sucked off by the mud!

2013 Team Ripple Massage for Mummy’s Wish

Thankfully, my team had many supporters including Ripple Massage (thanks so much Ali) and we proudly raised well over $6000 for local charity Mummy’s Wish.

In 2014 I have chosen a different cause to get muddy for. The organisation is called Do It In a Dress and it raises funds for One Girl, which helps educate girls in West Africa.

Here is why I chose this charity.  Last year, I read a horrific news article that still makes my heart heavy. It was about an eight-year-old girl named Raman from Yemen who died of internal injuries on her wedding night. Let me repeat that: on her WEDDING NIGHT. The thought of this happening in the year 2013 incensed and enraged me. My mind raced as to what I could possibly do, from my privileged existence on the other side of the world, to stop girls so young from being married. I decided to turn my rage into action. I thought that, even if I can help just one girl, by increasing awareness of this issue and raising some funds, I feel I will have helped in some small way.

I took to the internet to find charities that help young girls in developing countries.  Here are the facts and some of the standout charities doing amazing work in this area:

• Between 2011 and 2020, more than 140 million girls will become child brides (World Health Organisation March 2013)
• Girls living in poor households are almost twice as likely to marry before 18 than girls in higher income households (International Center for Research on Women: Child Marriage facts and figures)
• Evidence shows that girls who marry early often abandon formal education and become pregnant (UNICEF)
• Girls younger than 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s.  Pregnancy is the leading cause of death worldwide for girls aged 15-19. (ICRW)
• Girl Effect website girleffect.org
• Too Young To Wed and National Geographic Live!

Many of these websites come back to the same point: education. Watch this excellent clip The Girl Effect: The clock is ticking.

Girls in many parts of West Africa are never given the opportunity to go to school. Did you know that it is more common for a girl in Sierra Leone to be sexually assaulted than go to school?  This statistic horrifies me.

I hope that by completing Tough Mudder, you can help me raise enough money to send at least 20 West African girls to school. One Girl claims to be able to do this for around $300. I know that, with your help, we can do that!

WILL YOU JOIN ME?

I want you to join me in donning a school dress and complete Tough Mudder 2014. If you need some motivation to sign up, check out all the very cool things people from all over Australia have done the Do It In A Dress cause here.

So what do you need to do to join me?  There are four easy steps:

1.  Sign up to Tough Mudder and join my team here:
Simply register for the 8am start time on Saturday 16th August 2014. The sooner you sign up, the cheaper it is. Also, last year’s Sunshine Coast Tough Mudder sold out, so get in quick!

2.  Sign up to the Terms & Conditions for the Do It In A Dress fundraising team: here 

3. Start fundraising…!
Ask you friends, colleagues and family to support you in doing Tough Mudder in a dress!

4. Get a dress: Find a dorky school girl’s outfit to wear on the day. You could wear your old one, pick one up at an op shop, or you can buy one from Do It In A Dress for $20. Men and women sizes available.

Absolutely ANYONE is welcome to join our team (men and women), as long as you are committed to raising some money for the cause, Do It In A Dress. And please pass this post onto anyone you think might be interested.

If you really, REALLY don’t want to do this, but want to support this very worthy cause, an easy option is to sponsor me by clicking here.

Thanks in advance for your kind heart and generous support!