On Oct 11th 2014, the Didis of Rukmini Foundation celebrated not only International Day of the Girl Child (IDG), but also took part in the Stand Up for Girls campaign with our friends of LitWorld and celebrated the 3rd Anniversary of Rukmini Foundation. This celebration was enjoyed by girls of the Rukmini Foundation, LitClub Nepal members, and Didis (from Nepal and the US).
October 11 was a beautiful day for the Rukmini Foundation family
#StandUp4Girls
A big part of the day’s celebration was all of us taking part in the Stand Up for Girls campaign with our friends from LitWorld. A total of 25 girls along with the mentors and two Didis (elder sisters) from the US, Katie and Isabelle gathered in the hall of Bottle house, Pharping to celebrate the event.
We were so happy to have new Didis, Isabelle and Katie join us from this event … all the way from the US.
The day’s program included some inspirational words from foundation Program Manager, Nabin who shared the importance of the Day of the Girl and and told us all to enjoy the day. We then talked about the 7 Strengths that are the foundation of LitClubs – Belonging, Curiosity, Kindness, Friendship, Confidence, Courage, and Hope.
Girls hard at work writing about what they stand for as part of #StandUp4Girls
The girls first decorated the room with their own creations on chart papers for each strength. They then sat together to write about whom and what they would like to Stand Up for. This was a great exercise for the girls as they each stood for a different strength of LitClub and they stood for a person or a group. Some of the examples included girls saying they would like to stand on behalf of all the girls who didn’t get an opportunity to go to school or standing for their mother or sister. They also shared the story of them being inspired by the kindness of historical figures like Florence Nightingale or the Courage of current, prominent figures like Anuradha Koirala and Malala Yousafzai. The session was really very inspiring.
The girls created beautiful posters with LitClub’s 7 Strengths
It was during this time of sharing that we talked about a very important recent event as the girls got to learn about Malala, her work, and how she was awarded the Noble peace prize. Our Program Manager Nabin explained the significance of this so that the girls could realize that girls have the power to change the world for the better.
The girls listen to Dr. Nabin, Program Manager of Rukmini Foundation about the importance of the day and how girls like Malala are changing the world for the better.
When the girls first started to read their messages, it started like a reading session with them just reading what they wrote. However, with the encouragement of the Didis the girls became more comfortable in sharing and they seem to start enjoying it much more. All of the girls put in a lot of effort to explain why they chose who and what they would like to stand for.
Just a few of the girls sharing who they Stand Up for
The session looked beautiful and it was very inspiring for us Didis to see the girls of Rukmini Foundation and LitClub members uniting together to stand up for themselves and other girls. The Didis from the US, Katie and Isabelle helped a lot and shared their experience about their lives in the US and what great work they were doing in Nepal. We were very lucky to have them join for this great day.
Didis and Bahinis (younger sisters) working together
After the sharing session was over, we took some free time to take a few photos to share with you all. As this day was also Rukmini Foundation’s 3rd Anniversary, we all took some time to wish the girls and the foundation a very happy anniversary.
Finally, we all sat together for a feedback session to talk about what was shared and see what the girls learned from the event. During this session, us mentors (Didis) thanked all of the girls for their hard work and willingness to share about themselves to make this a meaningful event.
What a beautiful and inspirational day it was
We were inspired by the girls and we believe that as more girls learn to speak up for what they stand for. we will see more girls like Malala who will make this world a better place. After thanking each other we left the hall and proceeded to get some delicious snacks. What a great day of celebrations it was.
Prakriti Nepal
Rukmini Foundation Didi
- Learning Mentorship and Creating Leaders - June 28, 2018
- LitClub Nepal Celebrates Stand Up for Girls 2017 - October 28, 2017
- LitCamp 2017 An Annual Festival of Empowerment - August 3, 2017
- LitClub Mentors Always Looking to Improve - May 25, 2017
- LitClub Members Share HerStory - April 28, 2017
