Thank you for all your help! National Volunteer Week 2021 at One Girl

19 May 2021

A lot of the work that One Girl does would not be possible without the energy, passion and commitment of selfless volunteers who give up their time and skills FOR FREE. In return, they get the satisfaction of knowing that they’ve made a difference and we give them our never-ending gratitude, lots of high fives and special shout outs on days like these!

It’s national volunteer week and we would like for you to meet some of the amazing volunteers who support our work.

We wish you could meet them all, but here are five amazing women who’ve helped us leverage the transformational power of education to support girls and young women in Sierra Leone and Uganda.

Deborah Zhang
Deborah has been volunteering with us since September 2019, working in our fundraising team. She is currently completing a Master of Teaching (Secondary), and is passionate about Pilates, public health and pasta!

When asked why she wanted to volunteer at One Girl, she said, “I am passionate about female empowerment and education, so One Girl seemed like a natural fit - and a great place to grow professionally!”

Deborah has worked across a variety of projects during her time with us, and we are so lucky that she brings such a diverse skill set to the team!

“One of the most exciting things about volunteering at One Girl is being able to support the growth of the organisation, and witnessing new initiatives and campaigns be built from the ground up. I've done everything from calling donors, to creating social media tiles and copy, to researching grants and workplace giving.”

Deborah will be finishing her degree this year, and hopes to be in a classroom in the very near future! On top of that, this powerhouse is aiming to complete a half-marathon soon - potentially as part of Do It In A Dress!

Leanne Higgins

Leanne is one of our superstar volunteers who lives in Sydney with her husband and four wonderful children. When asked why she wanted to volunteer with One Girl, she said:
“I read a quote one day that said ‘none of us can move forward if half of us are held back’. I started to investigate the truth behind that and found One Girl on my journey. I am a proud feminist in the truest sense ofthe word, and I not only believe in what One Girl stand for and fight for, I felt a compelling need to be a part of this amazing cause.”

With a background as a strategic planner, Leanne has been working on a research project for our fundraising team, to help our schools programme better connect with students. It’s been going really well and we’ve already had some amazing results!

“It’s one thing to believe in and respect what a charity does, and it feels great when you make a donation or sign a petition, but it’s another feeling altogether when you take action. I feel incredibly proud and empowered as a volunteer. I am helping change girls' lives, how incredible is that?!”

Deborah Johnson
Deborah is our incredibly talented graphic design volunteer, who lives in Melbourne with her partner and daughter. Deborah started volunteering with One Girl a number of years ago, but came back on board in 2021 when she had some extra time on her hands.

“I liked that One Girl has made educating girls its single purpose, which makes so much sense not just for addressing gender inequality but because of the "girl effect" - educating girls generates an amazing virtuous cycle.”

Deborah has been working on some digital designs for our website, socials and emails, and is also creating an incredible motion graphics video for our Do It In A Dress campaign (keep your eyes peeled for this in the next couple of months!).

When asked what she enjoys most about being a volunteer, Deborah says:

“The chance to do work that matters to me, and to be a small part of an awesome success story.”

Jeneba Jimmy


Jeneba first came to One Girl as a Scholar at the Vine Memorial School. She started volunteering at the One Girl Sierra Leone office in 2019 and was an integral part of the team till early 2021.

Jeneba has been supporting field officers and the administration and finance office. She is friendly, kind and always willing to help where she can.

Gabriela Gauthier
Gaby joined the Programs team as a volunteer in 2020 and primarily worked on our newest program, Girl Tok. Gaby created wellness and self-care based content for the lessons, finding ways to increase ease of use and beauty within the program and assisting with monitoring and evaluations.

“The environment that the team created showed me how female-led, girl-driven thinking and practice creates a whole new world of possibility for everyone. I love how everyone working with and alongside One Girl walk the feminist walk in every sense,” she said about the experience.

She had such a great time, she even chose to stay on as a volunteer even after her official placement came to an end!

“Being able to contribute to the amazing programs has become a bright part of my week... Plus getting to see all the amazing feedback from the girls after programs have finished solidifies just how much of a difference our collective actions make!”


And it is this collective action from volunteers such as Deborah, Leanne, Deborah J, Jeneba and Gabriela and many others that One Girl can work to support girls and young women in Sierra Leone and Uganda access education and skills development, helping them to grasp opportunity and chase their dreams!

Thank you, volunteers. 

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