I Am A Girl From Africa

Kenya Keys founder, Rinda Hayes, sometimes refers to Kenyan young women as 'girls of steel'.  During the years that I have been associated with Kenya Keys, I have found this title to be completely applicable.  Like steel, these young women can be bent and stretched to the maximum before breaking. They face obstacles that we can hardly imagine.  Their challenges are real, like hunger, (one meal a day is the norm), lack of sanitary supplies, the possibility of being forced by parents into an early marriage, the dangers of sex trafficking,  an illness with no medical care available, and always the fear of not having resources to achieve their educational dreams, yet their tenacity and determination, what my grandmother might have called 'sheer grit', are a wonder to behold.  

I was delighted on this trip to sit down with a group of these incredible girls to discuss the book, I Am A Girl From Africa by Elizabeth Nyamayaro. Like the girls in our discussion group, Elizabeth was born into poverty but she had a dream of becoming a UN worker.  This dream was an anchor on Elizabeth's incredible journey from a mud hut in Zimbabwe to the halls of the United Nations in New York.  Her story would be inspiring to anyone but most especially to a group of young Kenyan secondary school girls who also have big dreams.

In the book, Elizabeth's grandmother talked to her of 'shinga' - an inner strength that God gave to Africans because he 'knew that life wasn't going to be easy....shinga is inner strength but so much more - shinga means courage and to 'be strong' and it also means to 'persevere' and to be 'resilient'.   Sounds like girls of steel huh? 

When I asked these girls to share their dreams, they answered immediately.  Some wanted to be doctors or lawyers or nurses or teachers. One girl dreamed of being a human right lawyer, another a cardiac surgeon; another a social worker, one even dreamed of being an air hostess. All dreamed of education past high school.  And every single one of them longed to give back to their families and communities.

We talked about the African concept of ubuntu, which means "I am because we are, and because we are, you are'.  Ubuntu means that we share the weight of work and sorrow, and the lightness of joy and abundance.  We pray for  the sick, we bless one another each time we meet; we pray for rain and celebrate together when it arrives'.  It means that your dream doesn't just belong to you, it is a dream for all of us." This group of teenaged girls live this concept each day.  Remember the longing of each girl to give back to their families and communities?  That isn't fake.   We are seeing this over and over again as formerly Kenya Keys sponsored students who have achieved their educational dreams, now support the education of others.

The discussion of ubuntu led us to think about the heroes of the book.  Obviously, Elizabeth is a heroine of her own story but when I asked the girls who else were heroes their answers came quickly.  They named Elizabeth's grandmother who sold her cows and goats to buy her granddaughter a ticket to London.  Uncle Sam and Aunt Jane who encouraged Elizabeth in her studies.  The UN doctor who took a chance on an untrained young woman with big dreams and gave Elizabeth her first UN volunteer job.  The African proverb is "It takes a village to raise a child".  I might amend that to say, "It takes a village to make dreams come true."   Sometimes the heroes leave the village to achieve their dreams and sometimes the heroes stay at home and rejoice in the fulfilled dreams of others.

Another concept we discussed was that dreams are an anchor or a foundation.  Elizabeth says, "My dream anchors me - even when I'm tired and hungry, and even when the days are long and unpleasant".  After the discussion I had prepared an activity for each girl.  

They had the chance to design their own book cover with encouraging words or things they wanted to remember about the book. Hopefully this visual aid will be another anchor to their dreams.

What could possibly be better than discussing I Am A Girl From Africa with these 'girls of steel' who dream big dream! And who understand the African proverb, "your dream is a dream for your community".

And thanks to Kenya Keys for helping so many to have their dreams come true!