In a world driven by constant societal pressures and expectations, building the confidence and self-identity of girls has become more important than ever. The path toward self- discovery can be challenging, but empowering young girls and helping them navigate through life with a strong sense of self and confidence is an agenda that has the power to shape their future success and contribute to a more fulfilled life.
Erudite Women’s Empowerment Foundation in collaboration with In Our Image Consulting introduced the Girls Identity Summit – GIS initiative for the first time in Ghana in 2021. The initiative seeks to instill a sense of self-awareness, confidence, and identity in the young girls within our society and schools. Two years on after its introduction, there is a need to focus on sustainability in continually empowering the young girls, which is why a curriculum has been designed to guide the grooming process of the young girls in the targeted schools.
This year, the GIS took a much intensive and targeted approach to empower a handful of girls and Girl-Child Coordinators- GCC’s who will in turn pilot the formation of empowerment clubs and roll out the GIS curriculum. The event spanned a period of two days 2nd -3rd November, 2023; the first day was a training workshop for GCC’s on the curriculum to be used for the year-long training of the girls in the GIS club and to further collect their inputs for the GIS curriculum and the second day was the day of the summit where GCC’s came along with two selected girls from their various schools to mark the opening of the GIS clubs in the represented schools.
Day One
Ten (10) teachers who serve as Girl-Child Coordinators in their schools were invited for a workshop on Thursday 2nd November, 2023 at the Business Resource Center in Konongo, Asante Akim Central. The workshop started with an onboarding session which involved registration, handing of care kits and backpacks with essentials for the summit.
The workshop began with brief introductions among participants and facilitators as it was the first time of encounter. “The curriculum has been used in some schools and churches in the United States, and Ghana is the first African country to adopt it and pilot it through the collaborative efforts of Erudite Women’s Empowerment Foundation and the Asante Akim Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Education Service” Coach Michele of, In Our Image Consulting, USA disclosed during the workshop.
Coordinators were taken through the various components of the curriculum. Their views on each component were invited, deliberations on the witnessed experiences of the girls in the various schools were laid bare and measured with the interventions presented within the curriculum to help streamline the curriculum to suit the local context in which it will be implemented. They were advised to be conscious of the steps taken towards boosting the confidence of the girls and encouraged to consider all aspects of the growth of the girl child as equally important phases worthy of attention. At the end of the discussions, coordinators were officially inducted into the girl empowerment mission with a commitment oath read out and an induction badge pinned to their chest as evidence of their acceptance to the call.
Day Two
The Girls Identity Summit, which witnessed the attendance of over twenty (20) girls, Girl-Child Coordinators, as well as facilitators and guests from GES, and the National Youth Authority, was a massive event which aimed at uplifting and empowering girls in Ghana. The event included breakout, interview and networking sessions.
Coach Michele led the session on the power of Value, Voice and Vision. She enlightened the girls on the importance of their voices being heard in society as it possessed a unique ability to impact the world, the value they possess and the need to have a vision as they journey through life. She urged them to stay true to their identity and to appreciate who God created them to be.
Breakout Sessions
The first breakout session was on preparing girls for decent livelihoods; Skills4Girls: this session provided girls with the needed orientation to trail and explore entrepreneurial activities. The session was facilitated by Madam Charlotte Ofobiri of Ecohezz GH/ Circular Economy Village. She introduced them to the world of waste recycling and the vast opportunities in that sector while encouraging them to explore with their creative skills as she demonstrated simple up cycling crafts as well.
The second breakout session focused on building girls’ health and well-being. The session was facilitated by Mad Olivia Naa Norley Aboagye, a Public Health Officer at the Ghana Health Service. She had discussions with girls around their sexual and reproductive health needs and educated them on some common mistakes that we make as young girls and how best they could avoid them.
The girls discussed their daily hygiene routines, menstrual hygiene management, and the importance of maintaining a clean and healthy body. The summit provided a safe space for girls to share their personal experiences and interests in all aspects of their lives and similarly created an avenue for facilitators to address some of their concerns and challenges.
GIS Proud Moment
EWEF together with the GIS team from the States were proud to have Ms. Ramatu Zakaria, 14 years of age, and an alumnus from last year’s cohort joined in this year’s GIS as the moderator for the entire event! Her confidence, crowd control and public speaking ability was just admirable and that was a very proud moment for the entire team, seeing that there had been a massive positive transformation from when she first partook in the Girls Identity Summit in 2022.
Key Outcomes
GIS 2023 allowed girls to create awareness about the challenges they face, and offered a safe space for the voices of our girls to be heard and celebrated. Onward, they have become advocates for change in their schools and communities.
The I See Me mentoring club has been officially launched in 10 selected school! This is to ensure that our girls have access to continuous support and guidance from mentors and peers.
Appreciation
Thank you, thank you, and thank you, to the team, volunteers, sponsors and well-wishers who contributed to the success of the 2023 Girls Identity Summit to ensure that the lives of our girls are transformed. Our girls are counting on us! God bless you all.