Comments (1)

By Natasha Khanna, September 6, 2010 7:00 pm

Natasha Khanna, new She's the First guest blogger, volunteering at the Shanti Bhavan school in India

[Editor's Note: We are proud to introduce you to our new guest blogger, Natasha Khanna, who until last week, lived in NYC where she worked in the field of crisis public relations. She quit her job to travel to India and work with the Shanti Bhavan Children's Project, a school in the She's the First directory, where you can support girls' sponsorships. She will continue the blogging started by Shreya Bhatt, who volunteered during the summer. She will blog regularly about life at the school, especially pertaining to girls. Give Natasha a welcome in the comments!]

Namaste from rural Tamil Nadu, India, She’s the First!

I am so excited to be sharing my experiences with you over the next few months from Shanti Bhavan, a home and exceptional school located in rural Tamil Nadu, India, for the region’s most socially and economically disadvantaged children. The school follows a completely unique and innovative model of combating poverty, educating the poor and fighting social injustice. Admitting students at the age of four, Shanti Bhavan provides a holistic, high quality education until the age of 17 free of cost, and afterwards, funds college education for its students.

Over the next few months, I hope to help you feel like you’re experiencing the same things that I am, and interacting directly with all of these amazing children. I’ve only been here for 4 days so far, but already can’t imagine leaving them come December.

For my first post, I wanted to share with you the morning prayer that the children of Shanti Bhavan recite daily alongside the staff and teachers. The school is non-sectarian, but the inclusive prayer urges students to commit themselves to contributing to their communities and humanity, and to maintain a peaceful outlook on life. This prayer is particularly touching to me because, having come from India’s lowest caste, the children of Shanti Bhavan have not always been recipients of the generosity and peacefulness that the school is now instilling in them.

“God, Creator of the Universe, help us remember that you are present in each one of us. May we respect each other and be tolerant of our differences. May we be good and caring towards each other. May the teachings of all the great world religions direct our thoughts and actions. Grant that we may be spiritual in our interaction and zealous in our work and play. Help us to discover different ways to serve our fellow humanity. Guide us to discover the treasure hidden in each one of us, and to uphold what is right, cherish what is beautiful, and revere what is divine. As we journey through each day of our lives, give us the grace to accept whatever you have in store for us. Be with us in our joy and sorrow. Help us to build Shanti Bhavan into a haven of peace and let the peace touch the lives of all we meet. We salute the divine in each other. Namaste.”

For my next post, I hope to provide a video or some photos of some of the girls performing dances in honor of their mentors for Teachers’ Day, which took place on September 4th. As Shreya previously wrote, Shanti Bhavan’s holistic education approach includes a focus on the arts; I can’t wait to share the students’ talents! Also please feel free to let me know what you would like me to report on from on-campus — I am open to any and all ideas, and hope to have a few of my own after I begin teaching on Monday!

Comments (1)

By Devin Tomb, September 3, 2010 12:04 am

[Editor's Note: Our Campaign Developer, Devin Tomb, kicks off a monthly series of creative and affordable fundraising ideas this September!]

TOP 5 BACK-TO-SCHOOL CAMPAIGN IDEAS

Kisa Scholar,Tanzania - Photo by AfricAid

1. Host a table at your school’s activity fair. Recruit the eager freshmen who can’t wait to get involved—and what better organization to join than your She’s the First chapter? Talk to students about upcoming STF events and get them excited about joining your amazing team!

2. Organize a bake sale. Sweet treats are irresistible, sold at a table you set up (with permission) in the cafeteria or student center.

3. Donate portions of your school dance ticket sales to STF. Having a homecoming dance this year? Ask your student council to donate a portion of the ticket proceeds to She’s the First! It’s an easy way to make a lot of money—and have fun at the same time!

Liberian girl, who just received new backpack. Photo by Tammy Tibbetts

4. Raffle a “Dream Job Shadow Day.” Ask the faculty and student parents to raffle off a shadow day with local professionals in the area. (For example, a sophomore who wants to be a pediatrician one day could buy a $5 ticket to win a “shadow day” with a local doctor in the neighborhood.)

5. Collect school supplies and used books for your own back-to-school sale. Gather unused pencils, pens, stickers, notebooks (anything!) sitting around your room that another student could use at school—and ask your classmates to do the same. Use these supplies as the starting-off point for a “Back-to-School” sale.

Bonus points! Ask representatives from your school store if they would be willing to donate a percentage of their profits for the week to your She’s the First sale. Ask teachers to donate extra classroom school supplies to the sale, and solicit local businesses to donate items or put together prize baskets to raffle off.

Have more to add to the list? Write them in the comments! And if you use any of these ideas, be sure to write us, let us know if you need help connecting to an organization in our directory to set up the sponsorship, and of course send photos we can post to the blog!

Comments (2)

By Tammy Tibbetts, September 1, 2010 9:05 pm

Save the date for our first birthday bash, the She’s the First Soiree! To commemorate the launch of shesthefirst.org on Nov. 1st just one year ago, we will host a fun, twitterific, bedazzled benefit at Pop Burger in New York City. At the event, we’ll launch the exclusive She’s the First signature bracelet, designed by Asha Patel, who will donate 20% of its proceeds to sponsorships. There will also be a raffle to fundraise for sponsorships at the Shanti Bhavan school in India. Don’t miss it!

An invite with further detail and a link to buy tickets will follow shortly, but for now, mark your calendars. If you are a company wishing to sponsor or donate to the raffle, please email info@shesthefirst.org.

Comments (0)

By Tammy Tibbetts, August 31, 2010 10:46 pm

Select She's the First to receive 49% of your ticket price if you attend the Prime Produce Prom with us on Sept. 25th!

We invite our NYC supporters to join She’s the First at the very first Prime Produce Prom on Saturday, September 25th! This event is not organized by the She’s the First team; rather, Prime Produce, a NYC 501(c)3 not-for-profit that creates innovative channels for volunteers to positively impact the world, is hosting the Prom to benefit more than 16 local charities! She’s the First is honored to be selected as one of them. We will receive 49% of ticket proceeds from all those who choose to represent She’s the First when they register! That money will go straight to sponsorships for girls in our directory.

Buy your tickets here, and select She’s the First from the drop-down menu of non-profits. Easy as that! Show up in your best dressed (circa the year when you actually were in high school!) for prom photos. If you’d like, RSVP on our Facebook event page to see who else is going for She’s the First!

Comments (1)

By Tammy Tibbetts,

The next batch of correspondence from our Kisa Scholars, sponsored by the GIRLS WHO ROCK NY benefit concert, are in! Leave your comments and we’ll circle them back to the girls to read, and they’ll answer any questions you have.

Grace Lyimo

Thanks! To be honest you really make happy when I read your message. On first day of the coming month, we’re going to start our examination and after that we will be having an holly day [holiday] of about one and a half or two months. So on this week I will be very busy, final preparation before having my terminal examination. Hope you will be praying for us so that we will would do
something ” wondering” [wonderful].

To me you have been like sisters and I hope one day we will meet face to face. I can’t imagine how happy will I be to see you my dear sisters. I love you all! I will inform you much about how life goose [goes] and how are things at my home and my community [are], because it have been long time since I left my home and come to school. I hope to hear from you soon! Don’t forget to pray for us!!! All the best. – Grace Lyimo

Elizabeth David

Hi guys
How are you? I hope you are all well, am just a little busy preparing for my terminal exams which will start on Wednesday this week. Thanks a lot guys for sharing some different cultures that you have in the US. That thing about the accent, I hear it in the movies. [We told her that in the US, people from different states sometimes speak a little differently.] We finished working on the book before we left from the internship and it was such an amaizing experience.

Hey guess what! Next week on Thursday we are gonna start our one month holiday. I’m so excited about going home seeing my mother and sisters. I also miss my friends and home cooked food. I will also get a chance to [show] my mom your
pictures. I will be realy happy to see your video [about Peru]! My greetings to all. – Elizabeth David

Happiness Monyo

Hellow there, well I would love to be an economist because I love economics. What I like most in Tanzania are the honey pots found like the national parks, reserves, water bodies and most of all the peaceful environment found in Tanzania…We are in the week of exams, so many people are busy..and we are going to close for the holidays..am so excited that I will see my family after 6months. – Happiness Monyo

[Editor's Note: Some light grammatical edits have been made to original messages for clarity.]

Comments (1)

By Tammy Tibbetts, August 30, 2010 8:42 pm

Thanks to Shelley Tibbetts from New Jersey for tearing this page out of her August issue of Glamour (who else considers it their favorite magazine?), scanning it, and sending our way. Feel free to add your favorite famous first to the list by commenting below!

Famous Firsts in the August 2010 issue of Glamour!

Comments (0)

By Katie Riley,

Hi Katie!

My name is Juliet Suman and I have had the privilege of traveling to Haiti twice where Islon (11 yrs old in 5th grade ) captured all our hearts. What strikes you instantly about Islon is her confidence…she LOVES being “in her skin”! My own daughter observed in August that she is Haiti’s “IT girl.” In the USA we would just say she’s ALL THAT!

Islon is the oldest of three children and the only girl. Her mother left them to be raised by the grandmother so that she could pursue work in another town. The grandmother could not afford the 3, so Islon (the only girl) has had to live with a different family and be fed by the kindness of the priest at St. Michel Catholic Church. She often goes to bed hungry!

Islon can dance and sing with so much youthful joy (it is contagious to watch)…she is a delight! What really impressed and surprised us was her amazing ability to read English. She could read the words on all our t-shirts, nothing was too hard!!!! She has so much spark and intelligence. Even though she lives more humbly than we can ever imagine, but showed us her mud shack with such pride. “C’est my maison!”

Islon enjoys being alive and loves her world. I think if opportunities were presented to her, she would be able to serve the country she lives as an incredible, educated Haitian young woman.

We were so sure that “she was the first” one that you are looking for, that we videoed her telling you so!!! She says “I AM THE FIRST!”

Sincerely,
Juliet Suman

Islon is just one of many students at St. Michel’s primary school who still need sponsors. For $100/year, the Haiti Outreach Program provides tuition, a uniform, school supplies, and a hot daily meal for students in Boucan Carre. Read about how others have supported the Haiti Outreach Program through She’s the First here. You can do it too!

Have any of you been to, or are you thinking of traveling to, Haiti?

Comments (1)

By Tammy Tibbetts, August 27, 2010 8:11 am

Fall 2010 issue of Glitter, a magazine for teen girls -- the cover story features She's the First, GIRLS WHO ROCK, and Vita Chambers!

She’s the First just experienced another “first’” this week — we can hardly believe it! Our campaign (fueled by your passion!) and our first GIRLS WHO ROCK benefit concert in New York City (was on June 10, during Internet Week New York) made the cover story of Glitter, a magazine for teen girls!

Editor-in-chief Nikki Fowler attended GIRLS WHO ROCK with her teen reporters. Adding in the images of She’s the First staff photographer Kate Lord, they published a beautiful 6-page spread featuring an interview with performer Vita Chambers and a recap of the night. One of our teen fundraisers, Mackenzie Olson, was even profiled on page 53 in the “real people” section, giving advice to her peers on how to sponsor a girl!

Special congrats to Vita Chambers, who is currently rocking out with Justin Bieber on tour, on her first big cover too!

You can flip through the magazine in Flash here — let us know what you think! And we’re already planning GIRLS WHO ROCK 2011 in New York City, so feel free to share any ideas.

Thank you, Glitter!

Comments (1)

By Maisy Page, August 26, 2010 12:49 pm

More often than not, my writing is inspired by an inability to sleep and some sort of great stirring in my soul (the two are often related). Tonight it’s been due to reflections upon my recent trip to Uganda. My first trip to Africa.  I had the amazing opportunity to spend four glorious days in and around Kampala. I took a boat to the source of the Nile River, walked among Vervet monkeys, saw where Ghandi’s ashes were scattered, made friends from Canada to Tanzania, and felt the hearts of the Ugandan people. I can only sum it up in the fact that the phrase I heard the most while I was there (other than Muzungu, meaning white person) was “you are most welcome.” Not only was this the phrase I most commonly heard, but the general feeling I had during my entire stay.

Throughout my days in Uganda I tried to learn as much as I possibly could, to soak it all in. I had so many questions and all of my questions were met with thoughtful answers from everyone I encountered. It seemed that I had “girl who wants to learn” written all over my forehead. Even when I wasn’t asking questions, the people surrounding me were trying to teach me as much as they could. They wanted to share their lives with me as much as I wanted to learn about them. One thing I learned about Ugandans is that just as much as I want to learn, so do they. In my travels I was hoping to be able to visit She’s the First partner school Arlington Academy of Hope. Unfortunately due to time and travel limitations I was not able to but once I returned home I watched AAH’s film “From One Village.” This film to me is very representational of what I witnessed in Uganda, some of the most hardworking people I’ve ever encountered that have some of the biggest hearts and smiles imaginable.

From One Village: A Story of Hope in Uganda

The story of Nabulo Rachel, featured at the end of From One Village, is where I tie my She’s the First journey to this story. Through She’s the First I have been able to witness the hearts of the amazing women that I am able to work with on a daily basis on this side of the world and the women that She’s the First is empowering all over the world. Nabulo Rachel is proof that the message we are spreading, the statistics that we bring to you, the possibilities we see in these young women, can be realized. Nabulo Rachel’s short story is this:

“Nabulo Rachel was one of the original children in the scholarship program that John and Joyce Wanda started in 1996. Rachel and her four siblings were raised by her mother, Sarah. Inspired by her mother’s determination to see her succeed, Rachel made the difficult decision to drop from P7 in a village school back to P5 at AAH the year it opened. She passionately wanted to avoid the common village fate of early marriage and motherhood and did not let the golden opportunity of AAH pass her by.

AAH nurtured Rachel into a vivacious and confident all-around student. She was a top academic performer in her graduating P7 class and one of the school’s lead singers. She received an AAH scholarship to continue her schooling and chose to attend Makerere High School – Migadde, a secondary boarding school near Kampala. She is currently in her third year of study. There, Rachel remains close to her AAH peers and joins them in the long hours of study hall and library time necessary to keep afloat in the demanding Ugandan secondary system and realize her dream of becoming a lawyer. When she returns to her home during term breaks she runs eagerly to engulf AAH staff members in tight hugs and is rarely seen without a wide smile on her face.”

With the continuation of our work through She’s the First and an increased awareness of the stories of more girls like Nabulo Rachel, we can help to increase the statistic of educated young women in Uganda. We can help give young women like Nabulo Rachel an opportunity and a voice. By doing this, she will then be able to go back to her community and share what she’s learned with other young women. Instead of continuing a cycle of poverty and lack of education, we can help young women to break that cycle and start a new cycle where they return to share their knowledge and better their community. When I look back at Uganda, among all of the poverty, I see smiles and hope. I see strength and opportunity. I see a place that has changed my life. So to you, Uganda, I say weebale, thank you.

Comments (2)

By Tammy Tibbetts, August 21, 2010 3:03 pm

We received two new messages from Elizabeth David and Grace Lyimo! We sent them all some photos from Peru, and they loved them! Their assignment was to write to us about their culture. Take a look, and leave some words of inspiration or follow-up questions about their life that we can email to them in Tanzania this week.

Elizabeth David

Hi,I was really surprised by the pictures of Peru its so beautiful and
wonderful. Today am gonna tell you about my culture. In my country every tribe has its
own culture.In my tribe which is Sukuma of Mwanza near lake Victoria there
are cultures like women are to bend when greeting or giving something to
elders or men, there are traditional dances in the harvesting seasons where
some men dance with big snakes although nowadays its not common.
Also there are foods like sweet potatoes and cassava. This is mainly in the
village areas so when we go to the village to visit our grandparents we face
those kind of things. Do you guys have any kind of culture in the US?
Pass my love to all and enjoy your trip. – Elizabeth David

Grace Lyimo

Thanks very much for caring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The things you do the always inspire me. Now, I feel like flying to know that
my sponsors have the same interest as me. I wish I could join you to Peru
but!!! real I cant wait for those pictures. I am sorry for being silent for a
while, in our school there is poor connectivity.

Today I would like to tell you about my culture!
I am chagga in tribe,I comes for Kilimanjaro one among the region of
Tanzania. At Kilimanjaro the main economic activity is farming and cultivation
of crops like maize, beans, banana and others. The main food is banana with
meat in our culture we call it “NDIZI”sure I really like this food. The
Kilimanjaro region is the place where there is cold condition,amount of
rainfall, fertile land due to volcanic soil which comes from Kilimanjaro
mountain the highest mountain in Africa. Real I am so proud to be born as a
chagga in tribe course I enjoy the condition of the highest mountain in
Africa and usually go there to meet with my relatives because my family and I
are both live at Dar es salaam.
I am real happy to here from you even though I was silent this shows me that
you truly love me as you young. Thank for your support,am waiting for you
pictures!

ooooh i was about to forget Friday the passed week was the day that we start
our kisa net and we were having 12 students. For us it was like a dream but
now we made it and on Friday we will have another class. this inspire me to
bileav that all our dream will come true one day

pass my greetings to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bye bye!!!!!! – Grace Lyimo

p.s. we didn’t hear from Happiness yet — we’ll find out why and let you know.