Believe Club Celebrates International Day of the Girl Child

Away from the school, home and community environments where abuse, drugs, torture and rape are the order of the day, Believe Club girls in Livingstone, Zambia took time to celebrate themselves and each other on Oct. 11, the International Day of the Girl Child. As Priscilla Plummer, GSGC founder, said at the gathering, it was a day for the girls to feel free and know that others are concerned about them, a core value of GSGC.

The girls came together at Da Canton Restaurant for their celebration, which included lots of dancing, poems and games.

Apart from the girls, the event was graced by their school guidance teacher, who said, “The celebration will make the girls realize how important they are.”

The day wouldn’t have been possible without the club’s aunties, Gloria and Racheal, who were delighted to host other GSGC-supported aunties. Auntie Pestrida from Isepe Girls Club in Mwandi, Zambia, 75 miles west of Livingstone, remarked, “This day made girls feel special, confident and motivated.”

Three alumnae of Girls Stand Up Club, which is now Believe Club, also were in attendance. They helped the young girls sing the “higher higher song,” which they had composed a couple years earlier.

The International Day of the Girl Child means a day when a girl can be the “best version of herself,” Rachael, a Girls Stand Up alumna, said.

Another alumna, Given, said the celebration was inspiring, motivating and worth attending.

Worldwide, no celebration is complete without food. In a show of support for the girls and the day, restaurant owner Stefano Canton gave the girls 20 pizzas. “Africa is rich with young people,” he said, “and hosting such a group was an honor.”

In closing the celebration, Auntie Gloria simply said, “The turnout was amazing.”

We all look forward to International Day of the Girl Child 2020.

— Liliana Mushiba