Celebrating Women

This month at RVCV we joined millions of people across the world in celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD)! As part of our effort to appreciate the role that women play in our community, our younger children gathered in Serengeti House to talk about how boys and girls are equal. Of course, the celebration also included a dance party to one of our favorite women's empowerment songs, "Superwomen" by Zuchu!

Meanwhile, across campus our teenagers celebrated in their own ways! Our older girls shared their female role models, talked about their own unique gifts and talents, and discussed how lifting other women up would help build a stronger community. Magdalena Moses, 18, shared, “Malala Yousafzai is my role model because one day I want to be an educated woman who helps others." The boys were led through an activity that evaluated gender roles and the impacts they can have. They focused on the importance of respect and how it is everyone’s responsibility to challenge harmful thoughts and behaviors not just on IWD, but each and every day.

Understanding the important role that women play in building a brighter future and breaking the cycle of poverty, the Tanzanian Children’s Fund has developed programming that combats gender inequality. In fact, this year we are launching a new initiative that invites 30 Form 4 girls to live at Oldeani Secondary School, providing them with a safe and positive learning environment.

By creating a residential campus for this cohort, we are keeping students safe and increasing their chances of academic success in their final year of secondary school.

We want to provide the women and girls in our community with the opportunities they deserve, whether it be by empowering women through equal access to education, our Rifty Economic Advancement Program that helps over 450 women launch and operate small businesses, or the Rift Valley Women’s Group that facilitates skills-based trainings for women to create, market and sell handcrafts.