#YoungAndPowerful: Youth empowering youth
These three girls in Malawi are putting themselves first—and they have their peers to thank. Each is part of a Go! Girls Club, which have helped more than 240 girls like them re-enter school.
The clubs are part of programming provided by One Community in Malawi, which is funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). One Community is implemented by John Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Plan International and Project HOPE .
Margret
“None of the girls thought they could return; they felt it was too late for them. So, I said I would lead by example,” said 18-year-old Margret. Having dropped out of school two years prior due to an early pregnancy, Margret was dependent on the small funds her daughter’s father was sporadically sending her.
After a year of what she described as “aimless living,” Margret joined a Go! Girls Club because she heard they were teaching girls how to become self-reliant and achieve their dreams. She quickly formed relationships with the other girls in her club, and they encouraged her to become a club supervisor after only a few months of attending meetings.
As a club supervisor, Margret encouraged club members to return to school. Believing she should practice what she preaches, Margret re-enrolled in school.
“What I want is to become an Agricultural Community Development Officer, specifically working to improve farming methods,” says Margret with newfound confidence.
Carolyn
“My decision to re-enroll in school makes me feel like my life is on the right track again,” said Carolyn, who dropped out of school when her family could no longer afford the fees. To help her family survive, Carolyn would perform menial labor around the village. This is how she met her husband and ended up in an abusive child marriage at the age of 16.
Pregnant and alone, Carolyn was troubled by the few options she saw for her life. She started to attend the Go! Girls Club in her village. Led by a local young women, the club provides girls a space to problem solve; learn new skills; and protect themselves from HIV, other sexually transmitted infections, and gender-based violence. The club also encouraged girls to go back to school.
Carolyn left her husband and moved back into her mother’s home with her son. She starts her days at 3 a.m., drawing water and making porridge, so that she can leave for school at 6:30 a.m. She ends her days, late in the evening, studying after she has completed many tasks around the home. Carolyn stays motivated by remembering why she is going back to school.
“Some days I get really tired but I keep on trying because being young and pregnant was a bad experience,” she said.
Risita
“I was just living life and waiting to get married. But now I know better; I know how to protect myself and not to allow any man to cheat me out of being a successful nurse,” said Risita, a member of her local Go! Girls Club for girls ages 10-14.
Risita’s club identified young women in the community who inspire them and asked two of them to lead their club. The leaders help the girls learn how to advocate for themselves in relationships and prevent the spread of HIV. In addition, the girls talk about their dreams and how they can achieve them to become independent and self-reliant. Risita’s Go! Girls Club is inspiring girls to become positive role models and contribute to the development of their communities.
To help ensure members of the Go! Girls Clubs can stay in school, village savings and loan groups have been set up to allow the parents to acquire funding to grow their businesses, enabling them to re-enroll their daughters in school.
For more information about Go! Girls Clubs, please visit One Community Malawi.