Pamela Boulware
H3 - Kayonza District, Eastern Province
On October 11, 2012, Rwandacelebrated its first International Girls Day. International Girls Day or Day ofthe Girls is a day to celebrate and encourage young girls to be strong as theyendure the struggles of daily life, i.e., peer pressure, identity and poverty.All while embracing the woman they would like to become, in their educationalachievements, personal life, future careers and in their community. EDC/Akazi Kanoze’s Accelerated Learning Program has 100 hundred students in theEastern province of Rwanda, with over 50 girls. On October 11th, 47girls, ages 16-22, from four different locations in Kayonza, enthusiasticallygathered at Amizero Training Center to celebrate the strength withinthemselves. The girls spent the day learning about goal setting and self-esteem. The first half of the day, the girls learned about the importance of setting goals andfollowing through with the steps of achieving their goals. They wrote abouttheir long term and short term goals, and then discussed what may hinder themfrom achieving their goals and what will help in the achievement of theirgoals. As each girl stood in front of their peers and talked about theirindividual short or long-term goal, emotions ran high as girl after girlexpressed the challenges they would face and how they would overcome thosechallenges was nothing short of empowering. In that, each girl understood theothers and their challenges but to say them aloud really made the girls believethat their challenges could be overcome and they could achieve anything. Thesecond half of the day focused on self-esteem as they watched a movie entitled‘Sinurigisha’ (I am Not For Sale). It is a movie based on the solicitation ofimproper actions from young girls or boys from older men (Sugar Daddies) or women(Sugar Mammies) for gifts, food or money. After watching the film a discussionwas held on their thoughts about Sugar Daddies and how a person’s actions mayaffect their daily life; getting pregnant, contracting HIV/AIDS, social stigmasand self-esteem. As acollective, the girls decided not to just make celebrating themselves one dayout of the year but every day. Pamela H3
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