The
National Young Women of Distinction honor is given by Girl Scouts of the USA to
the top ten Girl Scout Gold Award recipients whose Take Action projects
demonstrated outstanding leadership, had a measureable and sustainable impact,
and addressed a local challenge related to a national and/or global issue. The
girls and their projects will be showcased on the blog in advance of being
honored at the 2014 Girl Scout Convention in Salt Lake City this October.
Monique Tinglin: Take Action!
Fight Youth Sex Trafficking!
Age: 18
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Inspiration:
After listening to the story of Alexia,
a 14-year-old sex trafficking victim, Monique knew she had found the issue for
her Gold Award project. Alexia is one of 3,000 victims of sex trafficking within
New York City, 100,000 in the country, and over a million worldwide. Monique
knew she had the skills, and definitely the confidence, to dive into this
project with full force.
Monique’s main goal was to help
all girls realize their full potential. To get there, her project informed people
of the magnitude of sex trafficking and inspired the nation to get involved in
solving the crisis and prevent future generations suffering the same fate.
How Monique Is Changing the
World:
Monique’s efforts made it all the
way to Kibera, Kenya, through an organization called Shining Hope, which
provides a variety of services to sex trafficking victims. On top of her
service work, Monique’s passions brought her to Albany, where she lobbied to
change the policies that treat sex trafficking victims as prostitutes rather
than as victims.
The project ended in a “Take
Action” summit. Monique brought together more than 75 adults and children of
all colors and backgrounds to confront this issue and engage in a
transformative conversation.
Monique can’t wait to see action
like this take off on a global scale. During her work, Monique demonstrated the
courage to take on a tough and sensitive issue and the ability to lead and
motivate others. Above all, Girl Scouts of the USA praises Monique for
believing in her ability to create change and wasting no time in taking action
to show us how!
Next Steps:
Monique is attending American
University in the fall to study communication, law studies, economics, government,
and Spanish. And Monique isn’t done taking action in Kenya yet. She and her
troop will be visiting sex-trafficking victims in Kenya and donating supplies.