Empowering Girls in my community to take ownership of their lives

My name is Jennifer Umeh and I am

 "Educate A Girl Scholar" 

Nigeria. During the one week workshop, we were trained on vocational training in media studies, and to strengthen our voice in media. We were encouraged to be

 social entrepreneurs and to discover our  own unique identity. 

EducateAGirl Scholars

In my case, I discovered myself to write and empower young girls, 

mostly the Girls who always worry about their future as they have parents who mistreat them, or as a result of poverty. 

These girls don't have the chance to develop their talents or to implement the ideas that could change their life and the lives of people living around them. It affects mostly people living in remote areas where young people are often denied an opportunity for education or have no right to speak their mind, making them ponder whether their life has value.

 I organise training sessions with them about their roles as active citizens and the leaders of today as my project. I train them in public speaking skills and build their confidence so that they may stand up for themselves. 

In spite of the poverty that is affecting people in  rural communities. I believe through this project young people can become great leaders because confidence and the ability to stand up for the young can change things as they know what their community needs better than outsiders. These young people can fight poverty in the country and could change the world like everyone else. 

The ability is there, as in my community where I live,  there is a girl whom we enrolled in school  and she achieved a rare first  grade in her primary exam, despite the low level of teaching in the school. 

My priority is to change the attitude of the community about girls going to school instead of getting married at a very tender age. 

1. Talking with teachers in my community , encouraging them to go out into communities and talk with parents about the schooling of girls.

2.  Discuss actions with the local councillors, to develop some strategies for local meetings to include discussion on girls' education

3. Run a series of confidence-building activities for rural girls, showing them that they have talents of different kinds, which could pave way and unlock their hidden potentials and career.

I have planned an outreach programmes, which includes games, creative learning , problem-solving,  ethics and world knowledge.

Offa is an area where there is a lot of families living in low income percentage.

 This is another key area which impacts on the lives of young girls and is quite often left undiscussed. It can lead to further lack of confidence and there my focus lies , where many girls are not able to go to school due to lack of financial constricts., 

within the Offa community during this particular project. I used my  Public speaking skills to help young people living in penury by counselling them and telling them that they are not alone. I train young girls who are forced into marriage to stand up for themselves because they don’t know the health of the people they have been told to marry.

The skill of confidence helps them to be strong and brave for what they know is right for them because I believe their voice can change the minds of parents and people living around them. I feel privileged to be part of the Educate A girl workshop and I hope that we will keep our shared vision clear and continue working together to make the world in general and Africa in particular become a better place. 

Educate A girl workshop has empowered me with the knowledge, skills, networks and I can do more to help young people to build confidence and make them realise that they are today's leaders who can change the world.

The Need for Extra curricular for School children

The students of some schools are far better than other schools . There might be many other reasons behind it , but the most important reason is ‘ the extra curricular activities ’ performed in schools .

For the all round development of a student only the course books and class room teaching are not enough . They must be involved in extra curricular activities. These may include games, quiz contests , spelling contests , dancing, singing , oratory contests , drawing, writing poems , stories , essays , etc.

Engaging students in games,  creative thinking and problems solving help them develop physically and other activities broaden their mind. Educating student doesn’t only mean to teach each and every line of textbooks and solve mathematical problems .

To educate means, to develop the inherent capacity of the students . For this purpose we should give them chances to take part in the activities of their interest . How can we find out which student has the potentiality to become a singer until we give him or her chances?

It is human nature that everyone likes to win and do things better than others . A student who is weak at mathematics  can be brilliant at other extra curricular activities. If we give students chances to take part in these activities , they will not fall into bad company . Rather , they will use their free time in creative works.

Here is what I am doing to support girls in my community - Jennifer Umeh

I shouldn’t be shamed for sharing my pains, struggles and life experiences. No girl deserves to be slammed or termed ‘attention-seeking’ or ‘too sensitive’ for sharing her story. Our stories need to be told because in them is the hope for survival for every young woman.

My life’s journey epitomizes, to a great extent, the challenges faced by the African girl child. I have been through most of the issues plaguing young women, from domestic abuse , low self esteem and everything else in between.  Walking young women through their ordeals is a mutual healing process as it helps me as much as it does them.

While visiting the motherless babies home in my community, I considered it my duty to mentor them, put smiles on their faces and help them  make the right life choices. Gradually, this mentoring circle grew to become a house hold name in humanitarian sector. 

Our programs inspire girls to have an independent voice,  Confidence and problem solving capacity to speak up,  be decision makers and create social change . To address this, Hope for African Girls Initiative has a conference for young girls as well as outreach programs for primary and secondary schools.

In addition, to debunk the myth that young women are naturally face with Inferiority Complex, we created a platform for all the volunteers Here, we come together in an informal setting to discuss issues relevant to girls, share opportunities, advertise and have meaningful debates about girls issues in Africa.

Our approach is the first of its kind. Our structure includes a board, a committee, and Volunteers. Our diversity reveals the implicit beauty of our differences and we are determined to do much more.

Through our several social media platforms, we invite  volunteers  to contribute to our planned projects.. Most times, our outreach programs were carried out by the volunteers and our growing membership increases the need to incorporate a wide range of issues facing every young girl. We work closely with other NGOs while monitoring progress through the appropriate authorities.

I am that strong Girl that everyone knew would make it through the worst. I am that Fearless girl, the one who would dare to do anything. I am that girl who never backed down.

I am Jennifer Umeh
I am bold for change