Why I’m Using My Voice to Help End Child Marriage
After more than a decade designing wedding gowns for Kiwi brides, I’ve seen how special a wedding day can be – it’s a celebration of love, commitment, and dreaming about your future. But not every bride is lucky enough to choose that future.
Recently, I partnered with World Vision New Zealand to help raise awareness about child marriage – a heartbreaking reality affecting 12 million girls every year. That’s one girl every three seconds. Often, they’re married off to older men. Many are as young as 10.
Before World Vision approached me, I honestly had no idea of the scale of this issue. I didn’t realise just how many young girls are robbed of their childhoods, forced into motherhood, and pulled out of school – all because of a decision made for them, not by them.
When I watched the videos World Vision shared with me, it broke my heart. These girls don’t have a voice, they don’t have the knowledge or freedom to say no. And that’s why I said yes – immediately. I knew I had to be involved in this campaign.
As a bridal designer, my whole world revolves around weddings – helping brides feel confident, empowered, and radiant. But this campaign shows the other side of marriage, one many of us never have to think about. It’s not about love or celebration. It’s about survival.
World Vision’s 1000 Girls campaign aims to help girls escape the risk of child marriage by providing access to education, healthcare, and community support through child sponsorship. These are the tools that allow girls to stand up for themselves and say no to a future they didn’t choose.
One story I’ll never forget is about a girl named Neha. She escaped child marriage at 14 and has since helped prevent three more in her community. That kind of bravery is what inspires me to use my platform for something bigger than myself or my brand.
Since joining the campaign, I’ve sponsored a beautiful little girl named Finella from Uganda – and my husband, Tim, has sponsored a boy named Joshua. It’s a small action, but together these steps lead to real change.
In New Zealand, we’re incredibly lucky. We have the freedom to choose our paths, our partners, our careers. Not every girl gets that choice. So if I can use the platform I’ve built to help even one girl choose a different future, it’s worth it.
If you’re in a position to help, I truly encourage you to visit worldvision.org.nz or text GIRLS to 5055 to donate $3. That small act could be the reason a girl stays in school, instead of being forced into marriage.
Let’s help girls everywhere become the heroes of their own stories.
With love,
Trish x