Unlike most girls born into poverty, three young Kenyan women – all recipients of scholarships and mentorship opportunitiesfrom the Global Give Back Circle (GGBC) – are leading the global discussion on girls’ empowerment.

In May 2016, Wilkista Akinyi delivered a special statement at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. She represented hundreds of girls whose lives transformed throughthe GGBC and expressed solidarity with women and girls displaced by conflict.

“We can’t think of a more marginalized group of girls today than our sisters in the refugee camps all over the world,” she said at the summit.

In her statement, Wilkista referenced Mary Mwende, another GGBC alumna, who is now in Lebanon conducting focus groups and interviews with adolescent girls at various refugee camps. Mary’s findings will inform a study that shows how the GGBC mentorship model can be used to connect these girls with mentors who inspire them, help them realize their potential and broaden their frame of reference regarding what is possible for their future.  The study will also show how smart phones can be used to deliver life and workforce-readiness workshops.

Wilkista understands the types of conditions lead vulnerable girls into early marriage, increase their chances of contracting HIV/AIDS or leave them without the education or skills to earn a decent living. Growing up around Lake Victoria in Kenya, she never knew her parents. She was raised by her grandfather, who, before he passed, kept the 2004 newspaper where her name was listed as one of the highest achievers in the national exams.  He knew her academic success would secure her future.

With support from private sector partners, USAID and the GGBC, Wilkista has done more than succeed in her studies – she has become a global ambassador for girls’ empowerment. 

U.S. First Lady recognizes Global Give Back Circle

The stories of other brave Kenyan girls are receiving wide recognition. In April 2016, at a World Bank Summit in Washington, D.C., First Lady Michelle Obama shared the story of Faith Chepkiror (at the 43:37 mark in the linked video), a GGBC scholar who ran away from home in West Pokot to continue her education. 

At the summit, First Lady Obama said:

After watching so many of her sisters and friends undergo genital mutilation and be married off as teenagers, Faith ran away from home, determined to avoid that fate for herself. She managed to complete primary and secondary school, the only girl in her village to do so.  And with the help of a USAID program called the Global Give Back Circle, Faith is now attending a technical training institute where she’s studying community health and community development.  On the weekends, Faith volunteers at a local hospital.  And once she gets her diploma, she hopes to attend university, because, as she puts it -- and these are her words -- Faith says, “I hope to proceed with my studies to degree level so as to encourage other girls in my community that it is possible for a lady to be educated.”

Sarah Muthoni, another former scholarship recipient, helped bring the GGBC model to Faith and 99 other girls in West Pokot. She matched the girls with mentors, organized computer and life skills training and helped them design ‘give-back commitments’. These commitments are hallmarks of the GGBC model and require each participant to invest their time and talents in ways that benefit their communities.  

Earlier this month, Sarah was invited to the United State of Women Summit in Washington, D.C. She watched U.S. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Obama share powerful ideas on overcoming the countless barriers experienced by women and girls across the world and told her story at the FHI 360 Gender Summit side event joined by U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues Cathy Russell. 

“…I could not stress enough the importance of mentorship, reproductive health and financial literacy knowledge, ICT skills, agriculture skills and being encouraged to dream big,” Sarahsaid. “Attending these summits in Washington, D.C., changed my life. I now know that I, too, want to dedicate my life to public service, just like these dedicated women.”