Things We Love.

This post was submitted by our Girls Club Facilitator in Ghana, Emefa.

Today’s meeting was centered on the strength courage.

The check-in question got girls to share some fun moments of the previous day. Girls talked about exciting play moments, chats, and moments with friends.

Courage was introduced to the girls as the strength of the day, and the big idea to do something that you know is right, though it may be difficult.

Our read aloud poem, “Honey, I Love” by Eloise Greenfield, was an interesting one for girls. They enjoyed the fun way that the poet writes this poem.

The class then went on to discuss some of the things the poet loves. Many of the girls indicted they love some of the things as the poet loves too.

Our writing activity for the day got girls to write a description of something that makes them really happy, something they truly love. Girls gave various descriptions of the things they love with illustrations to show in detail the things they love. Together the class wrote down each girl’s loved thing on a chart sheet titled “The Things We Love”.

Girls agreed that there are things they love that other people don’t love.

Girls said it is annoying to them when they love something and someone else doesn’t seem to care about it. (For this response girls were led to consider the essence of tolerating other people’s views and preferences.)

Girls also said when they love something and others also care about it, they feel like being copied and competed with. (Here girls were helped to consider the importance of sharing, co-existence and the reality of commonality.)

Girls also believe we can show our care for one another by supporting and encouraging them. Similarly, in showing we care for the things other people love, girls believe support and encouragement is key.

What A Vision of Girls LitClub Ghana!

The Girls LitClub in Ghana made beautiful vision boards to demonstrate the visions they have for their ideal futures. They are eager to share them with the world, so we happily present these special photographs sent by Emefa, their facilitator:

They have a beautiful future in store. Thank you Emefa, for sending us a glimpse into these young women's lives.

Girls in Accra, Ghana, Recognize that Kindness Creates Change.

We are thrilled to receive photos and updates from Emefa, our LitClubs Facilitator in Accra, Ghana. Read on below to learn about the recent experiences of the young women in Accra:

It was much joy meeting again as readers, writers and friends after a break that ushered us into a new year and a new school term. It was with much excitement that we said hello to each other as we welcomed one another to our day 7 meeting.

Kindness was the strength around which our story for the day was shared. We shared a story by a local author entitled “Ama’s Concern” by Akua Tanefa. The story is about the love and concern of a little girl for trees in her community. She had learned in school that trees are life. Trees provide shelter, protect the environment, serve as wind breaks, and facilitates rainfall for the benefit of crops and plants. Ama began to complain to her parents and people around her about cutting trees for firewood and timber. She became sad anytime she saw trees being cut. Even though Ama’s concern has still not received attention in her community she continues to move the crusade against cutting trees and she hopes that one that one day the call will be responded to.

The story was connected to Kindness as one of the Litworld Girl’s club strengths. The girls were led to acknowledge Ama’s tenderness towards trees in her community and her positive attitude of responding to an environmental cause.

For our writing activity, images representing global issues were shared and discussed among girls. Girls were asked to choose one issue most important to them write down why the issue is important to them and how they can change the world to make it better.

Very interesting write ups were shared by girls. All responses were recorded on a chart paper and the list titled “What we care about”. Girls were then asked to write letters to the world, the president, the first lady, or anyone they would like, telling that person or global community what they feel is an important cause, what needs to be changed and how they think the change could be accomplished.

Girls who have volunteered to have their letters share with the group have also volunteered to share their letters with the Girls Club Community.

The meeting was wrapped up with a review of the day’s activities. I emphasized the need for the girls to continue to think about the world outside their neighborhood. The need for them to effect positive change, both in their communities and in the world was stressed.

As we held hands and sang our farewell song together, I reminded girls of how we are all connected and a special community of women and girls.

Thank you for instilling lessons in kindness and changemaking in these young women, Emefa. We love hearing and sharing your stories!

Girls LitClubs in Accra, Ghana Learn Business and Trade Through Women in the Market

For our special activity, we decided to connect with the community market women. The girls’ decision to visit market women in our local community stems from the fact that the Ghanaian indigenous culture reserves the market place for women to engage in business or trade. The market is basically characterized with buying and selling.

On the other hand, modernity, girl child empowerment, and the fight against child labor, are gradually widening the gap between girls and the market setting. The girls club in Madina, however, believe there is still something to be learned and explored in the market.

The visit was therefore to:
*Connect with the women who are also their mothers and sisters
*To gain firsthand experience of the activities that exist in the market
*To talk to the women and to understand their operations
*To find out what challenges they face as women
*To find out what challenges individual women in the market face in trading their specific foodstuff or products.

The two hour visit was an interactive one. The women, who were so pleased to have the girls connect with them this way, willingly shared their experiences at the market with the girls. The women took time to explain how they go about their specific trade in the market.  Litworld girls positively and inquisitively asked the women very interesting questions that got the women explaining issues such as:

*Source of one’s foodstuff of product
*The types of breed of a particular foodstuff
*Gestation periods
*Transportation costs
*Preservative measures
*Profit margins
*Security for goods

The girls were very happy to for such an opportunity to learn about the operations of the community market from the women. They promised to visit the market again!

Submitted by Emefa, Girls LitClub Facilitator in Madina-Accra, Ghana

Girls LItClubs in Accra, Ghana Explore the Seven Strengths

The entry below is shared by our Girls LitClub facilitator in Accra, Ghana, Emefa. Our Girls LitClubs there is done in partnership with Ceinode Ghana. Thank you for your work, Emefa!

The day began with the “Hello Song” that got the facilitator greeting all girls in a very exciting and sisterly environment. Girls could not hide their excitement and anxiety as they sang along with the facilitator to open the day. Next was the check in question that got the girls sharing their most exciting moment of the week. 

These warm up interactions set the stage to continue from where the Day 1 lesson ended previously. Girls were led to write the answer to day one’s discussion question into their journals and later shared with friends. Individual answers are captured in the photo below:

The next activity took the girls through the seven strengths of Litworld workshops. Girls were guided to appreciate what each strength stands for, and why our weekly workshops will be structured around the strengths.

The discussion subsequently led girls to indicate what each strength means to them as they came forward to indicate it in words, phrases, sentences and sketches, linking what they had to write to the particular strength being discussed at the time. The chart with the seven strengths boldly hangs in front of the club.
Generally, the day was a very interactive and fulfilling for the girls, a very successful and impactful day!

The day ended with a quick review of activities for the day and the goodbye song.

Girls Club in Kenyasi, Ghana, Sing Songs of Strength

We are pleased to share news about our Girls Club in Kenyasi, Ghana, that we've been able to set up with our partners at Agsu Secretariat. The girls have been meeting, singing songs together, and sharing their work with one another. The Clubs are being led by facilitator Ernestina Sablah. Below are some photos of their most recent meetings:

Ernestina, center, with the Girls Cub in Kenyasi, along with Collins Boateng (male leader) field worker from the University of Ghana, Legon

The Girls Sing the Hello Song

Writing and Reflecting During Session

Thank you Ernestina! We look forward to hearing more of your reflections during your experience leading Girls Clubs.