Every girl has the right to education:

There was a boy in my class at school (many years ago) who, every now and then, would sidle up to the girls individually and whisper: "Have you got your pads ready for your next period?".

We were 14 years of age; menstruation was a relatively new thing to us; and we thought he was telling us that we were 'showing' on the back of our school dress. We were mortified.

Once he had registered the horrified look on our faces he would cackle with laughter and say he was talking about the next class. (In those days, you attended class with pen and writing pads or notebooks - not computers or tablets).

Every single time, he would catch us out. The boy had three older sisters, and he 'knew' about all this stuff - and how embarrassing a spot of blood on clothing could be.

Why am I telling you this?

During October, a not-for-profit organisation One Girl is asking us to help empower women and girls in West Africa by 'doing it in a dress'.

According to UNICEF, only 1-in-six girls in most countries in west Africa ever get a chance to attend high school. 

"Girls in developing countries can miss out on up to one week of school every month simply because they have their period," co-founder of One Girl, Chantelle Baxter, says. "This usually results in them falling behind and eventually dropping out because they're not keeping up with their peers."

For these girls, the cycle of poverty continues. 

One Girl runs a program called LaunchPad where they train local women to start their own business selling sanitary pads and partner with high schools to offer menstrual health and hygiene, and also provide sanitary pads for the girls in the school.

They also build toilet facilities because schools often don't have separate toilet facilities for girls which makes it even more difficult to attend school each day - especially when menstruating. 

The fact is: more the girls who are educated, the better the impact for the entire community because she invests back into the community and will raise healthier children. 

To help One Girl educate 1 million girls across Africa by 2020, we're all invited to pick a challenge, 'Do it in a Dress', raise $300 and, by doing so, help one girl get access to education.

As awkward 14-year-olds, we had to endure the silliness of the boy in our class - but our right to an education was never in doubt; we didn't have to withdraw from school; we had separate toilet facilities; and his mother - who was a teacher at another school - eventually took him aside and gave him a good talking-to.

Find out more about  Do it in a Dress and LaunchPad at One Girl's website or in this video.