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The
Global Sorority South Africa journey is complete, yet there are so many wonderful things just beginning.
This trip was much different than our other global initiatives. This is mainly because we had a group of young women who volunteer their time with
Girls4Girls Charity with us. It was also the first time I’ve trained a whole group that then co-facilitated the
Elements of SUCCESS with me. (Talk about letting go and trusting the process!) It was also the first time Tia and I were joined with an entire group to young women from Canada to see the efforts first hand of their hard work at raising funds for another organization in Sommerset West.
When we created Global Sorority the objective was to offer sustainable leadership development through the Elements of SUCCESS, a book I wrote in 2007, and to create a film and community to support proactive dialogue sessions in the future. This initiative was born out of my frustration with how we do international work and how, we as a North American culture, put more emphasis on international aid vs. local to global shifts.
When we go on these trips we teach, we listen, we
learn. We give, we share, and we co-create possibilities. We hear stories many people I know don’t want to hear. What many don’t know is that they are stories that we have at home too, but we don’t talk about them. It’s easier to distance ourselves than to acknowledge and co-create opportunities. To live in our bubbles. We want to change that. The young women we work with are often victims. Victims of unhealthy family issues, victims of sexual assault, and victims of self- harm (regardless of where in the world they are). In essence, regardless of their backgrounds, race, or location they are young women who want to be more than they currently are. They all want to look in the mirror and say “I live to my full potential.” Often this is not only for them selves. It is also for others. They want to not feel alone and create greater community. Who doesn't want that?! There is an abundance of possibilities that can arise out of any circumstance depending on how we frame things and the actions we take. I guess my own history and story attests to this. It hasn’t been an easy ride but it
Boulder Beach
Penguin township has been a beautiful one.
This experience in South Africa has added to that.
The first week here we had an opportunity to settle in, connect with each other, and do a bit of sight seeing. Robyn organized a driver and had her grandparents come in from Johannesburg to help us around. We had the privilege of seeing Boulder Beach, where all the penguins are, see some gorgeous beaches, hike the Lion’s Head, and see the beautiful Waterfront. Tia and I adventured a bit to find some beautiful little restaurants and coffee shops. We even got to reconnect and meet with some friends who are doing some amazing stuff out here. The experience was amazing.
Like any new experience there were some challenges. Living with 12 people was not an easy thing for me. Most of my days and nights are spent alone at home working as of late and I've gotten use to doing this in my own tempo. Thank the good Universe that they are all very lovely people and it worked out great! With bad Internet I was unable to do my schoolwork so I’ll have an abundance
Positive Me
The girls draw out there positive characteristics during the Elements of SUCCESS leadership course of catching up as soon as I get home to meet deadlines for my research. And due to scheduling we had to cram in 18 hours of leadership training into 4 days. Given the circumstances and condensing of materials however, it was extremely successful. Ruth, our coordinator and support in the Lwandle township, stated that some of the girls said it was the best experience in their entire lives. The Girls4Girls team did some great warm up games, we offered leadership training, art, dialogue, and they ended with creating a group called Masakhane Group, working together to create a safe space for girls in their township. All the young women we worked with had a history of violence offences against them and all were excited to start something new to continue their healing. They came up with values and principles in which they will live by and one of the young women named Thuli (pron. Tuli), will lead the group.
The Helderberg Rape Crisis Center, with whom we partnered with, is run by Roniette. She tirelessly strives to create change and support women in their community. They facilitate a connection between social services, women and children in
the community, and the police. They provide counseling, clothing, and a safe house. They also have a center for children who have been sexually assaulted; seeing between 25 and 85 new children a month. One of the big stereotype breaking moments was that the statistics are not driven by a particular race. White, black and brown do not play a part in the numbers. This is not what media often shares with us. In fact, the area where we were in Sommerset West is very much a surburb like we’d find in North American. It has wealth, beautiful homes, lots of shops and one of the highest rape stats demographically than in other areas. This is why Robyn put is all in a house an hour away and we traveled in every day to work at the centers.
This trip, like all the others, has taught me a lot about my self, our work, and what partnerships can do. We were able to provide 30 Pads4Girls kits to young women, give over 30 handmade sock monkeys to the young women and the center for children, provide 13 young women with leadership skills, paint, plant, and decorate at
Global Sorority gals jumping for joy
They just finished transforming their limitations and creating new ways of framing their challenges! the center, and give a meaningful and memorable experience to everyone involved. I also left books and a teaching guide so Ruth can keep giving the leadership training to all the groups she works with.
There were over 30 people directly involved in making this trip possible! Amazing! Thank you to all of you!
We are excited to continue our partnership with Girls4Girls and see what other amazing possibilities we can create together!
Next stop later this year… Lebanon... in partnership with RUN4ACAUSE and The Beirut Marathon for peace.
Stay tuned!
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