CHALLENGE

I take part in volunteering to help my community in my free time, this specific time I took a different  challenge, to take part in empowering the girl child in local communities. In recent statistics, it was  noted less women representation in key roles some communities. It was a tough subject as more  companies are driving for inclusivity, and yet there are no women from those communities to take  up the roles and represent their specific needs that need to be addressed.

SELECTION AND APPLICATION

I picked on the story telling tool to tackle my challenge, this is a great tool to engage with these  women. Discuss their challenges and different policies that can be put in place to help improve  create platforms for them to be empowered.

Though story telling we were more connected on deeper levels, they took me through their day to  day activities and I understood how life is for them. I also shared my stories and highlighted on the  places we could resonate with each other challenges.

In one specific lady, I was able to talk to her, she really opened up on the issue of early marriage in  the community. She was married off at the age of fourteen, she did not get the privilege to attend  and finish her education, not so long she was already pregnant , being such a young girl and  pregnant poised a great danger to her health , at the time of delivery she was not attended to  trained specialist and her baby passed at birth.

INSIGHT AND APPROACH

Focusing on asking questions and listening with empathy to the needs of these women and girls.  Listening to and empathizing with them I am able to know the type of support they need and helping  them navigate through this change.

Everyone story mattered as some were stigmatized and could not take part in different roles in the  community, this helped me pinpoint their specific needs and how to address them best.

This exercise was an eye opener for me, what started out as encouraging women to take up  leadership roles in the community. I realised that there were more underlying challenges on why  they did not take up leadership roles. Some new insights come up, these included some women  were forced marriages that we abusive, some had been raped in their younger, some lost their  children because of the poor maternal care during delivery, some suffered obstetric fistula making  them more stigmatized in the society as they were considered as outcasts.

I also engaged with local community leaders, health care workers educational partners in those  regions to help drive change and empower women and girls. Am focused to share these girls and  women challenges and amplify to the larger community to bring change in this sector.

With storytelling, am able to increase awareness and strengthen their self-image as women, this  builds up their confidence and take up more challenges in their life. Some have started taking place,  more mentorship platforms for the girls, provision education facilities, better health facilities and  vocational training in these communities to empower women.

Storytelling lies heavily on ones listening skills, I was able to sharpen more of this and am more  confidence as a person, and this has also positively impacted my overall growth as a person.

