Earlier in the year, I interviewed eleven middle school girls for a scholarship to continue their studies in an effort to promote the education of girls. The scholarship was recently distributed to two of the eleven girls and they seemed happy, but reserved about their success.
Yesterday, one of the volunteers in my region organized an all-day conference for the nominees and winners of the scholarship in the surrounding areas. There were about 60 people all-in-all. It was a great day for women's empowerment, sharing stories, ideas, and a chance for the girls to gloat at their own success for being outstanding students.
When I first arrived in Thilogne, the city with the middle school, none of the girls were at the designated meeting place. Myself and Ashley, the other volunteer in my area, were a little nervous, but the girls slowly trickled in. We took a mini-bus to a city called Ourosouggui (sp?) and then started the conference extravaganza. We watched the film that was recently made by Senegal Peace Corps volunteers called "Elle Travaille, Elle Vit." It's a short film about five or six successful women and how they attained and manage their success. Then we had a story-sharing time with our three women panalists from the Matam region. For lunch, we sat with the girls and just talked about school, clothes, things that every young girl should get a chance to talk about. Then we went back for more sessions and before I knew it, it was the award ceremony and the girls were on the bus going home.
I think they all really enjoyed it. Even if they don't remember what we talked about in five years, they will remember that they were chosen and attended an event in a different city. It may be the only time they receive the proper recognition they deserve and I'm glad that we could facilitate that.
I did take a bunch of photos, but I forgot the camera cord...oh well. Next time!
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