Stay connected to the news, our team and our young people through these stories and regular updates on Facebook, Instagram and the GSGC blog. | |  |
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Reshaping Boys’ Thinking About Gender Equity: Another GSGC Success Story | |
We are often humbled by our work to empower girls and strengthen communities in Southern Africa. We know that providing safe spaces and consistent, local mentorship for girls, especially in deeply patriarchal cultures, helps move toward a more equitable future, a sustainable future, where everyone has the opportunity to live a life of dignity. Worldwide research and our own experience are unequivocal, and we've laid it out on our Why Girls page. | |
We also know that girls can't go it alone, that it takes everyone — men and boys included — to change society. Over the past few years, we walked head-first into nearly uncharted territory and developed relationships with local male changemakers who agree. And now, we whole-heartedly support numerous boys clubs in Southern Africa. With gratitude and satisfaction, we introduce our Why Boys page. | |
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Here’s why working with boys is important:
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“We need to work together with the boys, as well as the girls. Otherwise, we widen the gender gap and are creating a warzone.” | ~ Mentor Fwilane Banda, Project Luangwa, Zambia | |
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“The boys club has made a difference … They are able now to come together with girls, and now I feel like we are all equal partners.” ~ Mary, 16, Project Luangwa, Zambia
“When the boys support us, we are able to work alongside each other for the betterment of ourselves.” ~ A Wayi Wayi Girls Club member, 16, Zambia
“We know that modern society says gender knows no boundaries. With that thought in mind, boys should help girls so as to suppress the negative male dominance.” ~ A 17-year-old Girls Time member, Zimbabwe
“If the boy child supports programs to empower the girl child, morally and physically, the empowerment initiatives will hold water, expectations will be met, and desired results will be recorded. This gives the girl child the much-needed space to blossom.” ~ Ratidzai, 18, Girls Time, Zimbabwe
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Since we began collaborating with a boys program in 2017, we have grown 15 clubs in Zimbabwe and Zambia. But how do the Mentors we support change boys’ deep-seated cultural attitudes about girls and women? To better understand and appreciate their work, we offer a look at one club’s approach and one boy’s growth. And it’s just the tip of the iceberg. | |
“The old man thinking is dying off, but there’s this new man who has to bend into the 21st Century and who needs to understand that women need to go to school, women need to have opportunities to go to work. They need to become partners in marriage and community decision-making. There is no one inferior to the other.” | ~ Mentor Nyika Muyambo, Sisonke Boys Club, Zimbabwe | |
This blog post invites you to walk in the shoes of a boys’ Mentor and think about the enormous challenges Mentors of boys clubs face as they work to reshape traditional, ingrained and outdated attitudes toward girls and women. Enjoy this inside look. | |
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As a young teen in 2018, Mike helped build and paint Sisonke Boys Club’s meeting house in Monde, a rural village outside Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The small building’s architecture is traditional, but the discussions about manhood that go on inside are anything but.
Now, thanks to the guidance of GSGC-sponsored Sisonke Mentors Nyika Muyambo and Prosper Siphambili, Mike knows he’s on his way to a life filled with greater possibility, with greater respect, awareness and confidence. Hear what he has to say.
Thanks to Sisonke, Mike’s studying mathematics and statistics at Chinhoyi State University. Congratulations, Mike!
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When Elizabeth Nyamayaro’s book I Am a Girl from Africa hit the shelves last spring, a few GSGC supporters jumped at the chance to read about the Zimbabwean-born humanitarian’s life. What a story it is. Its poignancy touched each of us.
We wondered what GSGC-sponsored Mentors and girls club members in Zimbabwe would think about it. Did or do their lives align with Nyamayaro’s experiences, challenges, hopes and dreams?
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We recently put five copies of the book in the hands of Mentors and girls in Victoria Falls and Dete, asking them to write about their thoughts and feelings after reading it.
“Every person, young or old, boy or girl, can learn something from this book,” said Mentor Procedure Chikosi of Girls Time club in Victoria Falls.
Procedure has finished reading, but everybody else is passing around the few copies! We’ll write more after we hear from them. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, we hope you, too, will pick up a copy and enjoy the story of this remarkable woman.
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Thank you, Russell, Barbara and friends | |
Remember that African adage, “It takes a village?” Well, a village rallied earlier this month when GSGC supporters Russell and Barbara Ford and a small army of helpers welcomed the public during Open Studios, an annual event when artists in Clark County, Washington, invite others into their creative spaces.
Why? Because for the third year, the couple donated the proceeds of the sale of Russell’s pottery to Global Sojourns Giving Circle.
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Russell and Barbara Ford with a supporter (left) at Open Studios. | |
In two previous years, Russell created fish for his Casting a Wider Net theme after spending five weeks as an artist-in-residence in Southern Zambia. This year, Russell created fall leaves of various colors and glazes, some with insects on top, some vibrant, some more subdued. Love a Leaf, Lift a Child was the theme. A poster board told the story of GSGC. | |
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At the end of the cold, rainy Open Studios weekend, the display wall was practically bare and proceeds reached a record-setting amount — more than $4,100.
“How wonderful to be part of this special community, coming together to support and honor Russell’s talents and his and Barbara’s collective generosity,” said Paige Hasson, a GSGC board member and Clark County native.
The art-centered weekend is a labor of love for everyone involved — neighbors, GSGC supporters and far-flung friends who made their selections via Facetime. But a special Thank You goes to Russell and Barbara for their months of preparation, their energy and their generosity of spirit. We are grateful.
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COP26 Warns Climate Crisis Could Not Be Solved Without Women's Empowerment
"The world as designed by men has destroyed many things," leaders told COP26 delegates, highlighting the need for women empowerment to stop climate change.
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Zimbabwean Mentors Mercy Sibanda of Girls Time club and Prosper Siphambili of Sisonke Boys Club enjoy a rare outing at the conservation-oriented Victoria Falls Elephant Sanctuary, just outside the city. Several GSGC-sponsored Mentors recently accompanied Global Sojourns’ first post-lockdown group of travelers from the US. | | | | |
