Girl Power Clubs Africa Celebrates Day of the Girl Child

Wednesday 11^th October 2017 Girl Power Clubs Africa joined the rest of the world in celebrating this year’s edition of International Day of the Girl Child (IDG).  The event was marked at St. Aloysius Secondary School and was attended by 40 Girl Power Club members at the school. This year’s theme was ‘EmPOWER girls: Before, during and after conflict’.

Facilitated by Joy Akim, the project Coordinator, the day was started by first creating awareness on what IDG is all about, the 2017 theme, its significance and why the event is celebrated by the whole world. The girls were then given a forum to share their stories of what it means to grow up as a girl in a world that still discriminates against women. They talked about the many girls they know who have dropped out of school because of pregnancy; early marriage; and HIV among others, and what they think should be done to address such cases. 

From these discussions, it was quite clear that girls who are empowered can raise their voices to fight for their rights and protection in all contexts. They are working to end violence against women and girls, to recognize indigenous rights, and to build peaceful and cohesive communities.

Since 2012, October 11 has marked the International Day of the Girl (IDG) to raise awareness about the issues girls face around the world.  It is a day when activists, organizations, and girls themselves come together to take action to advance rights and opportunities for girls everywhere.

Girl Power Clubs Africa is a leadership program focused on providing teenage girls with a chance to learn life skills and learn to make decisions that affect their lives and their communities positively. It recognizes that it is essential to support and invest in girls by transforming the risks and deprivations they face, from preventing and responding to gender-based violence to promoting a girl’s right to find -and own - her voice.

 

Girl Power Clubs Moulding Leaders: Trizah Mboya's Story

Meet Trizah Mboya, a student at South Eastern Kenya University who recently completed her internship at Sadili and is now back to college. Trizah was a member of Girl Power Clubs while in primary school, and has grown to become a  role model to younger school girls who are presently members of Girl Power Clubs. She spent her last long holiday as an intern at Sadili Oval Sports Academy and had the opportunity to interact with the current members of Girl Power Clubs as well as children in other programs. Here is her story:

“My name is Trizah Mboya, a former intern at Sadili Oval Sports Academy. I came to know about Sadili through their program Girl Power Clubs Africa back when I was still in class 7 at St. Michael’s Holy Unity Academy. Throughout the program I learnt a lot during the sessions that they had in the school. I have been able to learn a lot more during my internship at Sadili which has also widened my thinking and attitude on lots of things.

Throughout my internship at Sadili under the Court of Dreams program, I loved my experience with Mary Rice School- a school for special needs children. Despite their conditions, these children were so full of life. Their smiles, their happiness and positive attitude towards life were a big lesson to me. They taught me that despite any situation we maybe in life, we should always appreciate and love life. The court of dreams program has also been helpful as I engaged in data entry and also data collection which was really a fun thing to do and teaching of the daily lives. I have also been able to learn tennis as a sport which was one of the things I least expected to develop an interest in, but I have found it as a great and now as one of my favorite games. I have experienced a lot through the programs they have been conducting. The most exciting and important part is the relation with the people in the community. Although it was a challenge at first, I found it more exciting since it also gave me the tips of handling different people, accepting and appreciating the people living around us. This has made me strong and I have learnt to persevere more and also be ready to work in any environment.

Under Girl Power program I also had the chance to talk to girls like me and share different experiences of our daily lives. Women empower each other. I learnt a lot from the girls as we would talk openly of every situation we’ve faced as girls. I must admit that I learnt from the girls from their questions and answers. The different topics we shared like Leadership, Menstruation, Discipline among others showed impact afterwards from the girls. I loved their company and how they always there for one one another, fighting challenges together.

Sadili has raised a platform in my life as I went through new discoveries, meeting new people and engaging with the community. I thank Sadili for inviting me in their programmes to work with them and gain good experiences from the programs. I am looking forward to practicing everything I learnt while at Sadili in my daily life, especially when it comes to working with children.”

Trizah's hard work and dedication during her internship at Sadili was always evident and that explains her success and ease with working with young people. We hope to see her do even more to her community in future.

We are always proud to see Girl Power Club members grow into ladies who are out to change the world, even in little ways!

Girl Power Clubs Africa Celebrates 2017 International Peace Day

On 21^st September 2017 Girl Power Clubs Africa joined the rest of the world in celebrating this year’s International Day of Peace (‘Peace One Day’). The event was marked in Nairobi with a total of 86 St. Aloysius Secondary School and giSt. Catherine’s primary School Girl Power Club members.

Themed "Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All”, the day was an occasion for individuals, organisations and nations to come together in a spirit of hope and act towards a unified and peaceful world. This year’s theme aimed to create awareness on the importance of all segments of the society to work together to strive for peace.

The celebration of the event by Girl Power Clubs was play-based, a technique that proved successful as everyone seemed to enjoy themselves as they learnt about the importance of keeping peace in their communities. The games included: Communities for Peace; Followers for Peace and Leaders for Peace, and each of them was followed by very emotive discussions where Joy Akim, the facilitator, engaged the girls on what it takes to be leaders for peace. The discussions revolved around matters like: i) What makes space peaceful or unsafe, ii) Actions people need to make space safe and iii) Taking leadership in promoting peace among community members.

This year’s Peace Day comes at a time when Kenya, an ethnically and religiously diverse nation is facing uncertainty on whether or not peace will hold following a repeat of presidential elections to be held in a few weeks to come. The repeat election follows an annulment by the Court, of the election held on 8^th August 2017. The event therefore proved useful in reminding people, regardless of age, gender or ethnic background why they need to maintain peace in their communities.

Through the games played by the girls on Peace Day, Girl Power Clubs hoped to demonstrate that we all have the capacity for peace within us and that we must set aside our differences and stand together to provide a voice for the country and the planet.

The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") is observed around the world each year on 21 September. Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace.

Girl Power Sports Day Successfully held at Sadili Oval

It was fun and excitement as 45 Girl Power Club members from Nazarene and St. Catherine’s Primary schools gathered at Sadili Oval for their Sports Day on 17^th June 2017. The weather was great and all activities were carried out outdoors.

The day kicked off with an insightful life skills session on ‘Body Image’ facilitated by staff (Social educators) including Trizah Mboya, Aurelia Mito, June Etyang, Philippa Mtamira and Jemimah Manga. The onset of puberty causes many body changes that can attract the attention of others as well as initiate critical self-analysis in a young person. This interest in appearance is driven by a strong need to be accepted and to fit in, and it’s particularly common among adolescent girls. These girls often don’t get the forum to openly discuss what they feel about body image and yet, its effects on self-esteem can be especially powerful during the teenage years. It is for this reason that the Social educators sought to use this sports day to address this important but often ignored aspect of growth. They sent out a powerful message on the importance of self-love and self-acceptance and answered all the questions the girls had.

The life skills session was followed by sports where the girls,together with Sadili staff,  had a chance to play football, rugby, netball and basketball. The girls were divided into four groups and by the end of the event, each person had played every sport. The day ended with a delicious lunch that was enjoyed by everyone.

“I have enjoyed myself so much, and learnt a lot about appreciating and taking care my body,” commented Esther Akinyi, a pupil at Nazarene Primary school. “I wish it could go on longer than it did!”

Our Girl Power Sport Days are organized to bring together Girl Power Clubs from various schools to participate in sports and acquire important life skills in a collaborative learning atmosphere.

We are grateful to all the partcipants and everyone who worked hard to sees this day successful.