The
girls of Nazarene Girl Power make an impressive bunch as they all line up in
their matching uniforms ready to sing a welcome song to their visitors. Afterwards the group gather around to talk
about how Girl Power works in their schools. “There are about 36 girls in our
Girl Power club” says chairlady of the Nazarene Girl Power group, Mildred. Mildred is also the head girl at her school, a
great achievement to be in both roles.
Girl Power has been active in this school for two years and the school
has put aside time each week for the girls to undertake Girl Power activities
once a week, based on the programs running which have been introduced by
Jayoung and Hazel May.
When
asked what are the most important things they have gotten out of Girl Power,
there is a flurry of answers. “Being good at taking care of ourselves”, “how to
know yourself as a woman”, “being empowered!” are just some of the answers
thrown forward. Mildred elaborates. “Being empowered means that standing on your
own position. Like for example, if a boy
wants you to have sex with him, when you say ‘no’, let your no be no. This happens a lot to us. You will find you are sitting together and
one will have negative emotions and the other one positive. We have found that a lot of boys want sex,
but we know we can say no and feel OK”.
“It has taught us that if we see someone in trouble, we shall just offer
advice and help. For example, when it is
the case of a friend, you should just advise her how to do it and how to
protect herself” another girl ventures.
Through
Girl Power they have learnt to play a lot of sports. Netball, Football, Swimming, Tennis, and Golf
are the favourites of the girls. Sadili
Oval Sports Academy has played a large role in giving these girls the
opportunity to explore these sports as well as other skills. “The Girl Power activity was last held on
April 15th to 20th and we all went” says Mildred. “The
best thing about that was that we learned how to be Goal Champions, and we
leant the money savvy module. It’s very important to know how to look after
your money”. These skills will definitely be needed as the girls grow up, with
all of the girls having fantastic ambitions.
“I want to be a lawyer” ventures one girl shyly. “A journalist, a surgeon, a marathon runner,
a nurse, a gynecologist, a lawyer” are the other answers that come
flooding.
These
girls certainly have a bright future if they can continue with their study at
school. You can help by donating at http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/inspire-22-girl-power-clubs-in-kenya-become-leaders/
Written by Hannah Collins, volunteer at Girl Power
Approved by Dr Liz Odera, Director at Sadili Oval Sports Academy
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