International Women's Day 2019

International Women's day is an exciting opportunity to engage our youth participants in celebrating women and their many achievements, as well as raising awareness about the barriers facing women today. On March 8th, we sought to celebrate the achievements of women in our own community and family, in Tanzania, as well as all over the world.

To begin the day, we had a short presentation explaining the purpose of International Women's day, when it began, and why it's important. We discussed several influential women around the globe who have made achievements in excellence, such as, Malala Yousafzai, Yuna Kim, and Brooke Boney. A video on Women in leadership in Tanzania was shown, which showcased female government officials speaking of the importance of women and in having their voices represented.

To bring the focus of the event back around to celebrating women in our own communities, each participant and staff had the chance to write a letter to a woman they admire. This was a beautiful exercise because many participants were eager to share their letters with the group. We had participants writing to their aunts, mothers, teachers, and sisters. The atmosphere was full of appreciation for the women in our lives! To finish off the day, we were honoured to have an amazing guest speaker - a local entrepreneur named Khadija - speak to our group about her personal experiences in becoming an entrepreneur, including the barriers she overcame as a woman. Khadija was inspiring, candid, and offered a lot of valuable advice to our group. She was full of energy and encouragement; her positive impact on the participants was evident. The feedback from the participants was extremely positive! They really enjoyed each activity that was organized throughout the day, and for many, hearing from a female entrepreneur in the local community was a highlight!