Connecting with My Sisters in Guatemala

20 Apr

“I know now that I can be a change agent, a force of change,” Vivian, one of the many passionate, empowered young women we met today told us. 

During the course of the day, we met with Mayan adolescent girls and their mothers in different communities in Totonicapan, Guatamala. These communities are often far from health clinics and secondary schools and are hard to reach even by car because of the terrain. The joint programs that Girl Up supports are the first programs in these communities dedicated to empowering adolescent girls and providing them with safe spaces. 

Each community we visited has implemented a different type of program based on the needs of that community, but it is clear from all the girls we met that these programs are making an incredible impact on the lives of Mayan adolescents in Guatemala. These programs are helping girls understand the power of their actions, their rights, and the ability they have to be a leader and make a difference. While the change must come within them, the programs are giving the girls the tools they need to be empowered and empower those around them. 

One of the many ideas that resonated with me today was how similar my passions and dreams are to those of the girls that we met. We both desire to have our voices heard and our opinions valued. We both seek acceptance and validation at a time in our life when we are searching for our purpose.  Most of all, we both have visions of change and of hope for our future and for the future of our world. 

I often talk about how Girl Up has given me a platform to use my voice. Being involved with Girl Up has given me the chance to stand up for my rights and the rights of other women around the world. What I realized after meeting with the young women is that these programs are doing the same thing for them as Girl Up has done for me. Programs like these are helping girls in Guatemala to be leaders in their community and the protagonists of their own stories. 

The girls we met with today who have faced unimaginable violence and discrimination inspire me with their stories of courage, strength, and conviction. They do not label themselves as victims, but rather as fighters.They are not only fighters for themselves and for their rights, but also for young women in their communities. 

What’s their message to young women in the United States and around the world? These young women are urging us to hold hands and stand up for ourselves and for our sisters because together we can create a world in which girls and women are equal.

 

This post originally appeared on GirlUp.org

Me with girls from Santa Maria Chiquimula in a Girl Up-supported program (INSIDER IMAGES/Stuart Ramson)

Me with girls from Santa Maria Chiquimula in a Girl Up-supported program (INSIDER IMAGES/Stuart Ramson)

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Thinking Outside The Box

28 Mar
Students promoting the recycling drive to benefit Girl Up.

Have you ever found yourself at a loss for fundraising ideas for an organization or cause that you are passionate about?

As teens, it can be frustrating when we find causes that we care deeply about but struggle to find the “right way” to ask other teens or members of our community to make monetary donations. While bake sales, penny drives, and candy-grams can all be effective ways to raise money through a school community, thinking outside the box and utilizing your networks and resources to mobilize a larger group in support of a cause can be a very powerful tool when it comes to grassroots fundraising.

Last month, the Girl Up New York Regional Coalition had the privilege of partnering with Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the largest electronics recycler in the nation to support and raise money for Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation. As I have previously blogged, Girl Up mobilizes teens in the U.S. to raise awareness and funds for the world’s hardest-to-reach-adolescent girls. Through ERI and the Girl Up New York Regional Coalition, we set up drives in seven different schools in NYC to collect unwanted small electronics such as laptops, cellphones, tablets, e-readers, cameras, gaming devices and ipods. Electronic Recyclers International reconditioned the small electronics collected for resale or recycling in an environmentally proper manner utilizing their certified processes. The profits will go directly to help keep girls safe, counted, educated, and become leaders in their community.

Students promoting the recycling drive to benefit Girl Up.

Students promoting the recycling drive to benefit Girl Up.

Although we still must determine how much was raised through this fundraiser, I believe it was already a success because it brought schools together with the common goal of raising awareness and funds by providing an environmentally friendly service to our respective communities. Instead of asking for money, we asked for people’s old electronics that were sitting in desk drawers or under their beds so that we can help girls receive the opportunities they so often lack in many countries around the world. Seems like a no brainer, right? This model of combining the efforts and resources of different people and organizations allows for funds to be raised more easily by larger groups while simultaneously raising awareness about a cause.  Always remember that while alone we are strong, together we are stronger.

**Stay tuned for a toolkit so that you too can organize an electronic recycling drive in your community to benefit Girl Up**

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A little Sunday Inspiration

10 Feb

 

Feb 10

 

I am a cheesy quote lover, and I have a collection of favorites that I tend to throw in to speeches or papers because they often get a point or an emotion across in a short but powerful couple of lines.

This one in particular stuck out to me. I have seen it on Facebook and Twitter posted, reposted, tweeted, and retweeted and every time I read it, I am reminded about the importance of living life to the fullest.  These are the words I hope to live by everyday and words that I believe everybody should keep in mind. I think people, especially teens, forget that they can be difference makers sometimes even unknowingly, and I have realized that making an impact doesn’t necessarily mean helping a whole community. You can have an impact every day if you wake up each morning with the goal of making someone else’s day just a little bit better.

Happy Sunday!

 

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National Day of Service on MLK Jr. Day!

20 Jan

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’” Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities.

The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President’s national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems.

January 21, 2013 will mark the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday. This milestone is a perfect opportunity for Americans to honor Dr. King’s legacy through service. I encourage you all to find out ways you can help out in your community tomorrow. Make this day off from school meaningful!

To learn more about what you can do in your community, visit http://mlkday.gov/#King_Jr_Martin_Luther_093.jpg

What will you do in honor of National Day of Service tomorrow?

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Opportunity for NYC Students

5 Jan

Rise Up with Girl Up at a sneak peak screening featuring one of Girl Up’s partners, 10×10. Girl Rising is 10×10’s soon-to-be-released feature-length film about the strength of the human spirit and the power of education to change the world. The film uses the power of storytelling and leverages strategic partnerships to deliver a single message: educating girls in developing nations will change the world.
Girl Rising tells the stories of 10 extraordinary girls from 10 countries, written by 10 celebrated writers and narrated by 10 renowned actresses, including Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington, Alicia Keys, and Selena Gomez. The film will be released on March 7th so this event will be an exclusive opportunity for Girl Up supporters and friends before the Red Carpet Premiere.

Join students from across New York City who are passionate and determined to help ensure that all girls have access to stay safe from violence, see a doctor, receive an education, and be a leader for a very special screening of this film that will not be in theaters until March 7, 2013. A panel discussion will follow the screening. More details on panel to follow.

Date: January 25, 2013
Time: 6-8pm
Where: The Hewitt School (45 East 75th Street)

The event is organized by the Girl Up New York Regional Coalition, a collaboration of all the Girl Up clubs in the metropolitan area and who are living Girl Up’s motto,
“While we are strong, together we are stronger.”

Girl Up is a campaign of the United Nations Foundation that works to mobilize teens here in the U.S. to raise awareness and funds for the world’s hardest to reach adolescent girls. www.girlup.org

Please RSVP to Sofia.Stafford@mac.com. I hope to see you there!Girl Rising image

 

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Invest in her Future!

31 Dec

Although my passion and dedication to girls and women’s issues led me to my role as a teen advisor for Girl Up, I would not have had the opportunities I have had without the investment my English teacher, Dr. Maureen Burgess, made in me. Beginning with a blog project in English class, she realized how interested I was in getting involved with an organization that would allow me to work on mobilizing teen girls to raise awareness about issues that girls our age face around the world.  She introduced me to Girl Up and has always been there for me to support my work with the campaign. Dr. Burgess inspires me every day and has shown me that by believing in the power of my dreams, I can make a difference.Dr.Burgess and Sofia

Khadija is just like me. She also has a teacher who believes in her. The difference is that Khadija is a 15-year-old girl in Malawi who was supposed to get married to a man much older than her.

Right before Khadija was forced to marry, one of the teachers at her school intervened and worked with a local organization that Girl Up supports to prevent Khadija from an early marriage.

Both Khadija and I are able to do well in school and positively impact our futures because of the investments our teachers made in us.

So what can you do?

When you give to Girl Up on Crowdrise this holiday season, Dell will double your gift! Donate today and make your contribution twice as nice.

With your help, we can double the important work being done through United Nations programs that provide education, leadership programs, and health services.

Invest in a girl. Invest in the future!

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One Dinner in December

15 Dec

This post also appears on the Girl Up blog. (http://www.girlup.org/blog/one-dinner-in-december.html)

I recently had the honor of attending a dinner at the home of Liesel Pritzker Simmons to raise awareness about Girl Up.

I met powerful, inspirational women who are dedicated to helping adolescent girls and closing the gender gap. The women at the dinner are leaders in their respective fields (banking, venture capital, cosmetics, law, film-making, philanthropy) who also support organizations like Girl Up so that they can help empower the next generation of leaders here in the United States.

After dinner, Gina Reiss-Wilchins shared a story of a young woman she met in Ethiopia, who was able to escape early child marriage, stay in school, and become an empowered member of her community because of United Nations programs that Girl Up supports. Gina underscored the importance of Girl Up’s role in creating the next generation of women leaders.

The evening continued with a “fireside chat,” during which I was interviewed by Abigail Disney, American filmmaker, philanthropist, and scholar known for her documentary films focused on social themes, specifically those relating to girls and women. Ms. Disney asked me about my involvement with Girl Up, the work and impact of the campaign, and how young people can get involved. Ms. Disney’s questions were thought-provoking and gave me a chance to share my message. In the end, when Ms. Disney asked me what my vision for the future is, I realized that the simplest way to answer the question was to say the Girl Up motto, “while alone we are strong, together we are stronger.”

My fellow Teen Advisors and I, and Girl Up supporters around the world, are living this motto today, but I envision a future where everyone is working towards creating a world in which girls are equal to boys, not at advantage or at a disadvantage, just equal.  That we have the same opportunities to pursue our passions, and that we have the one thing that no one can ever take away from us: what we carry with us in our heads.

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