"I discovered ways of building my self esteem"
"I unlearned the mentality that men are stronger than women!" -- Two graduates of the Girl Power Project.
For centuries, Ugandan women and girls have been forced to meekly kneel before men. We at Just Like My Child Foundation are so proud of Nyiraguhabwa Monica, who is teaching our girls to stand proud and treat themselves with the greatest respect.
Monica is helping girls embrace life skills and make empowered choices that will help them navigate the rest of their lives. Monica designs and leads our Girl Power workshops, which teach hundreds of young women that they have the right to live their lives without being harassed, exploited, or hurt. And that they can choose to attend school or work without persecution.
Monica's work couldn't be more urgent. Save the Children estimates that two children each hour are defiled in Uganda.
One of Just Like My Child's students was raped and impregnated. The rapist's family tried to "erase" the abuse by giving the child's family a cow -- and her family accepted it as the only kind of justice available to them.
I knew in that moment that we had to launch a program that would strengthen, protect, and empower future girls, and convinced Monica to train hundreds of girls ages 9 to 13 via the Girl Power Project. Those girls now are becoming more confident and bold, knowing THEY may be Uganda's next leaders.
We live for those days when the girls say things like, "I discovered ways of building my self esteem" or "I unlearned the mentality that men are stronger than women!"