By Kate Kiama, Director of Programs & Impact
Photos by Pascal Arrey

Last month, our Programs Assistant Florence Sidi and I had the fantastic opportunity to visit our long-term partner, the Girls Livelihood and Mentorship Initiative (GLAMI), in two of their three offices in Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions of Tanzania on the 24th and 25th of April respectively. GLAMI runs two phenomenal programs, the Binti Shupavu and Kisa Projects, which have benefited 11,400 Tanzanian girls to date.

Binti Shupavu, which loosely translates to “courageous daughters” in Swahili, is a four-year life skills course for lower secondary school girls. The program covers topics such as study skills, personal leadership, health, and self-confidence, with the goal of increasing graduation rates for vulnerable girls. The Kisa Project, on the other hand, is a two-year leadership course that prepares girls in their last two years of secondary school to attend university and create positive social change in their communities. Kisa means “story” in Swahili, and through the program, young girls are encouraged to become the creative authors of their own future stories. GLAMI runs both of these programs in 51 schools across Arusha (20 schools), Moshi (22 schools), and Morogoro (9 schools) regions of Tanzania.

Florence and I had the unique opportunity to visit Einoti Secondary School (Arusha) and Langasani High School (Moshi), where we witnessed firsthand the GLAMI magic of the Binti Shupavu and Kisa programs. While at Einoti Secondary School, the GLAMI mentors ran concurrent sessions with junior high school students on the reproductive system. This was particularly fascinating for me to witness in Swahili! At Langasani High School, with the senior high school students, mentors ran sessions on how to be creative while problem-solving. In both school visits, it was evident that the mentors and the girls have a deep connection. The girls were extremely confident, well-spoken, open, and, most importantly, were having fun in the after-school programs.

Perhaps one of the most successful features of the GLAMI programming is that mentors are consistent with a set group of girls and walk the journey with them for four years for the Binti Shupavu Program and two years for the Kisa Project. A curriculum is established at the beginning of the year, with a particular topic assigned for a particular meeting date, but each mentor is at liberty on how to run the session. Mentors shared that they see transformation in the girls when they commence the program within a year. They reported that girls become more self-aware, more confident, and feel safe sharing their opinions and views. Mentors also shared that the most emotional yet impactful days are the day girls join the program, and the day they graduate from the same.

During our two-day site visit, we also had an opportunity to train a cross-section of GLAMI’s staff from their three offices on how to use our recently developed “What Would You Do?” card game within an existing mentorship program. Girls in both schools also had a go at playing the game, which sparked interesting conversations—a major objective of the game! The card game allows girls in three different age groups to safely explore—through play and conversation with peers and a mentor—the building blocks of healthy relationships and strategies for creating safe personal boundaries.

With the staff, we also had time to explore, identify and prioritize their organizational needs, which She’s the First aims to support them earnestly during the pendency of our partnership.