Talent leading a session with girls on menstruation Every mentor hopes to make a difference in the life of a young person. But over time, many discover that mentorship changes them too. For Talent Muyambo, a mentor with the Sisonke Girls Club, walking alongside girls in her community has transformed the way she sees herself. It has taught her that leadership is not just about offering guidance—it's about becoming someone others can trust, learn from and believe in. The Power

In 2017, a young girl walked into the Girls Time Club, quiet, observant, and unsure of her voice. She wasn’t broken, but she lacked the confidence to express herself and stand up when it mattered most. That girl was Thubalenkosi Sibanda. “Before I joined the club, I wasn’t really shy, but I was not confident enough to speak up nor express myself.” She carried so much potential within her, yet she didn’t know how to bring it out. That reality became painfully clear one day whe

A Gap Between Potential and Opportunity The Global Sojourns Giving Circle Scholarships Programme began as a vision brought to reality in 2023, at a moment when we were seeing girls from our clubs complete high school but face an uncertain…

A Different Kind of Development It was early 2020, after more than 15 years working in the responsible travel, safari, conservation and community development sectors across Southern Africa, that I joined GS Giving Circle. From my first meeting, when Founder…

Shattered Childhood, Endless Hunger Maliki was just a young girl when her life was torn apart. In Grade 7, her father—the family’s sole breadwinner—passed away suddenly, leaving her mother to care for Maliki and her siblings alone. Their small home…

When Hope Whispers in the Dark The sun rose the same way each morning in Victoria Falls, but inside Lizzybirth’s small, crowded home, the weight of life never lifted. Her parents worked themselves to exhaustion just to keep food on…

A Spark Ignited In the heart of Tabayengwe Village, where hope often feels distant, 19-yearold Ayanda Ndlovu’s story shines as a symbol of courage and perseverance. Raised by her grandmother, Ayanda grew up knowing what it meant to struggle —...

In September, Nyika and Tara travelled together to the Lower Zambezi and Mfuwe to revisit the roots of the very first boys’ club, started ten years ago. What they found was both moving and inspiring. In the Lower Zambezi, young…

Charity Chipopola was the girl who stayed in her room, invisible to the world, quiet even among friends. “I used to ask myself, ‘What will we even talk about at the girls club?’” she recalls. Growing up in Livingstone, Zambia,…

Fwilane is one of GSGC’s longest serving mentors, starting with Project Luangwa 10 years ago in 2015. Project Luangwa’s first girls’ club was sparked by GSGC in 2013. After the clubs were piloted, GSGC helped to identify Fwilane to lead…

Why Global Sojourns Giving Circle’s Mentoring Model Matters By Holley Gilbert and Suzanne Firth, GSGC Supporters “I am unique. I matter.” These five words seem simple. But when a young person believes them — really believes them — everything can…

Tikobane Club: Building Opportunities, Changing Perceptions In rural Dete, which borders Zimbabwe’s massive Hwange National Park, youth face limited opportunities and have few positive role models. Without structured activities or many educational or economic opportunities, many struggle to find direction,…

Growing Up in Mkhosana At just 23, Ratidzai has already defied immense odds to achieve what once felt impossible. Born and raised in Mkhosana, a small community in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, her childhood was far removed from the images of…

Take 1 Zimbabwean development specialist Christabelle Peech was blown away by the three GSGC-sponsored clubs she visited in spring 2021 while assessing her country’s tourism industry during the pandemic. She’d known about GSGC’s work in the region, but 2021 was...

“Leave everything and go to school.” Those were Estellah Mwaba Mwila’s last words to her 12-year-old daughter, Sunga. She and her 7-year-old sister were caring for their ailing mother in a tiny farm house with no electricity or running water...

By Pamela Nyoni and Thubalenkosi Sibanda, Girls Time Club, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Pamela Nyoni Thubalenkosi Sibanda Burning aspirations, goal setting, interaction and gatherings are what gave life meaning. Ruefully, the vicious and unwelcome stranger, who they call COVID-19, shuttered everything....

For years, Racheal Musonda has lent a hand. Now she lends an ear to Believe Club members — girls in Livingstone, Zambia whom she mentors as a GSGC Auntie. “I’ve always loved working with people," said Auntie Racheal, 29. “With...

Growing up in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Procedure Mhlange watched her widowed mother struggle to provide for her, her brothers and her aunts and their children. Procedure and the women suffered at the hands of male relatives, but the women were...

Auntie Profile: Edna Mwale The [Project Luangwa] Girl’s Club was like my second home to me, and the Auntie who was coaching us was like a mother to me. The most important hero in my life is Auntie Fwilane, who...

The 230-mile journey earlier this month from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to Lusaka, Zambia, where I was to catch a plane to see the Giving Circle clubs in Mfuwe, took seven hours. It was hot, and tiring. But the fruits of...