An ultramarathon winner from Australia has completed a challenge to run the length of the Philippines, completing the equivalent of two marathons a day for 12 days, to raise money for girls supported by Save the Children.
Natalie Dau, 53, who is based in Singapore, began in San Vincente on Philippines’ southwestern most island of Palawan on 21 April and ran throughout Luzon, the country’s biggest island, down to the west coast and through the capital Manila to finish at an event held by the Philippines Department of Tourism.
Natalie’s run comes at a time when girls and young women aged 15–24 are still twice as likely to not be in education, employment or training compared to their male counterparts despite progress on girls rights with more girls in school than ever before since 1995. [1]
Globally, 650 million girls and women alive today have experienced sexual violence in childhood, and nearly one in five girls are married during childhood. [2].
Save the Children’s Girls Impact Fund paves the way for a new approach to how we support girls around the world, channeling specific funding and activities designed for, and with, girls. The fund invests in local women’s organizations and to support girls’ participation in decision-making in countries around the world.
Natalie, who has won ultramarathons 11 times, said:
“Every single girl in this world should have the power to shape her own future, but the reality is we don’t yet live in that world. Pushing through adversity, keeping a positive mindset, breaking barriers– this is what sport, including running, is about. What Save the Children’s Girls’ Impact Fund does is to help girls through specific funding and activities designed for, and with, girls that help them to achieve incredible things in their communities.”
Lisa Aubrey, Director of Regional Fundraising at Save the Children UK, said:
“We’re incredibly grateful to Natalie for embarking on such a courageous journey in support of women and girls through the Girls’ Impact Fund. The money raised from Natalie’s extraordinary fundraising challenge will allow Save the Children to drive forward children’s rights and gender equality. We’re determined to help every child become who they want to be and by listening to girls about the challenges they face every day, we can work with them to make sure their needs are heard.”
Just one example of the Girls' Impact Fund's latest successes is in its fight against child marriage. In a landmark moment last year, Sierra Leone passed a bill to ban child marriage and to criminalise the act of marrying or entering into a union with a child under the age of 18, including provisions for enforcing penalties on offenders.
Reference:
[1,2] UN Women: https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2025/03/adolescent-girls-rights-over-30-years
For further enquiries please contact:
Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Media Manager, Asia: amy.lefevre@savethechildren.org +66818317923
We have Natalie Dau, based in Singapore, available as a spokesperson.
Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409
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