“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” – Maya Angelou
Girl Scouts prepares girls to empower themselves and promotes compassion, courage, confidence, character, leadership, entrepreneurship and active citizenship. Why do I know this? Not only was I a Girl Scout growing up, I was a Girl Scout Leader for 12 years. Yes, you read that right. 12 years. Funny thing… all those years, I thought I was preparing girls for their future. Little did I know, the girls were preparing me for mine.
In the spring of 2015, I was truly struggling with whether or not I would return with the mission team to South Africa in January 2016. I love Knysna, South Africa. I had already been there twice. I have friends there. So why wouldn’t I go? Well, quite frankly, I was not feeling called to go along to work on a construction project. Am I being selfish? I know, I know … Sometimes we all need to do things we don’t want to do. But this was different. I REALLY didn’t want to go. I was prepared to have Kurt go without me.
Then God spoke to my heart. There is a reason I was a Girl Scout Leader all those years. It is time to share those types of experiences with the young girls in Knysna. Wow. That was it. I need to start some type of program for girls! The passion and desire to return to Knysna came flooding back.
I spent the next few months researching Girl Scouts/Girl Guides in South Africa. I hit nothing but roadblocks. I researched other programs, but I kept hitting roadblocks. I finally realized I just needed to be there in person to get things figured out.
Once I returned, I met with my friend Ella (I introduced her in “The Unprotected – Part 2”). She too agreed that there was a great need for a program for girls in the township. Knowing that leadership would need to come from within, I had Ella round up a group of women to hear what I was proposing. I explained how I want girls to learn how to empower themselves. To have compassion, courage, confidence, character, leadership, entrepreneurship and active citizenship (Sound like Girl Scouts?). And most of all, I want them to become the women God has created them to be. Three women stepped up, agreeing to be the leadership team. So with a name, short agenda and a mission statement, we started.
The Girls Talk Mission Statement reads as follows:
Girls Talk provides programs to girls to help enhance their lives through educational, spiritual and entertaining subjects. Our goal is to help girls develop self confidence, life skills and career readiness as they grow to be the women God intends them to be.
Although we have had to tweak the focus of the group over the last two years, the mission statement has remained the same.
Year one was a true learning experience. Because of the need for such a program, 22 girls ages 11 – 21 showed up on the first day. Not wanting to turn anyone away, we allowed them all to join. Each Saturday following, 15 – 20 girls showed up. The leaders began to feel the difficulty of planning for such a variety of ages. It was hard to have discussions and activities that were appropriate for everyone.
So year two, January 2017, we opened Girls Talk to only Grade 7 girls. This age group was chosen, because Grade 7 is the last year of primary school. High school starts in Grade 8. It is our chance to catch these girls and instill in them self confidence and healthy life choices before they begin High School.
With the original leadership team burned out and no new leader in place for 2017, I continued moving forward. I met with the principal of the township primary school, who allowed me to send a flyer home with the Grade 7 girls. I invited them and their moms to an information meeting. Ten girls showed up, most with their moms. Also in attendance was a woman named Thokozile. I had not met her before. She has two sons, but was curious to hear about the group. She had a passion to work with girls, but did not know how to get a group started. After I explained the group to the moms and girls, all 10 girls committed to joining. Thoko loved the plan and volunteered to lead. And so it was, 2017 Girls Talk was set in motion!
Thoko and I met and planned an agenda for the year. And although she had a full-time job during the week, she faithfully met with the girls every Saturday afternoon.
The girls engaged in prayer, discussions, games and community service projects. They learned to cook, paint, bead, and screen print. They made cards and delivered them to people in the hospital at Easter. (This is not as easy as it sounds, as arrangements have to be made to hire a taxi to take the girls to town and back). They put together “Dignity packets” made up of sanitary pads for girls in their school. Many girls miss school monthly, as they cannot afford to purchase the necessary products.
The girls learned new things. Most had never participated in “community service” before. They loved it. And Thoko continued to build character with the girls through various discussions, games and activities.
When I returned a couple of months ago (Jan. 2018), I met with Thoko to “debrief”. She loved volunteering with the girls so much, that she agreed to do it again this year.
Perfect. Just as I hoped. So I thought.
Something was still pressing on my heart to grow the program. I felt we needed to keep last year’s girls who are now Grade 8 and start a new Grade 7 group. This would give the girls the support they need their first year in High School now too. I quickly realized that this was not reasonable with our limited resources.
After much prayer, I met with the Director at Knysna Youth for Christ (YFC). I proposed that they take on Girls Talk as one of their ministry programs. And they agreed! This means we can reach Grade 7 and Grade 8 girls with much more programming. We will be able to reach girls in both the Xhosa and the coloured areas. This is my heart’s desire coming to fruition! (Please read my next blog as I explain what this means for Thokozile- God-size dreams).
I can’t explain in words the excitement I feel. The privilege to obey a calling from God and step back and watch it flourish! ~ Tracy Cooper
Sidenote… Because YFC is an NGO with a limited budget, all ministry programs need to raise the funds to support their ministry. If you feel called to help in the funding of Girls Talk, please click on the link below and type Girls Talk in the comments. All donations are tax deductible and will go directly to the support of this incredible program.
https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000WKZkVEAX
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