Empowering Girls in Kibera

Yesterday was International Women's Day! In celebration of women worldwide, we wanted to bring you the following story about how Lydia became an acrobat.

Lydia, 16, found out about Carolina for Kibera’s Daughters United program (Binti Pamoja) through her best friend, who already regularly attended meetings. Having grown up in Kibera in a single-parent household, she had been longing for a place where she could meet friends apart from her siblings - specifically girls.

She quickly discovered and appreciated the sense of community she felt with the other girls in her group. “I like that Binti helps girls to overcome some of the challenges they face in the slum, such as violence, early marriage, and drug abuse, which are really affecting young girls in Kibera.” The program’s activities also help girls to identify and practice their different talents, including creative writing, photography, and—most importantly for Lydia—dance.

Lydia enjoys the program’s dancing sessions more than any other aspect of Daughters United meetings. But she had never dreamed of doing something as daring and unique as acrobatics. At one of these dancing sessions, a representative of Nafsi Africa Acrobats gave a spectacular presentation. Lydia immediately found the sport intriguing and exciting. The representative also took an interest in Lydia, hand-picking her to train with a team from Nafsi.

As Lydia practiced, she improved greatly; before long, Nafsi invited her to Copenhagen, Denmark to perform last December! Rather than being strictly a competition, the event functioned as a cultural exchange, bringing together dancers and acrobats from all over the world to share their heritage, culture, and distinct styles of dance, song, and acrobatics. The last day included a competition with participants from other countries, and Lydia’s group emerged the winners!

Through Daughters United, Lydia discovered her passion for acrobatics, which she plans to continue throughout college and the rest of her life. Perhaps one day, another aspiring acrobat will follow in her footsteps.

Everyone deserves a chance to create change in their own life and community. No one’s potential should be limited by where they live or where they were born.

Kiberan youth are hard at work doing just that—creating change—and they want people to know that the youth of Kibera are resilient and determined. We asked Sheryl (pictured above) what she wished others would know about her community. This is what she said:

"When you tell people about Kibera, they think it is dirty and that people are lazy. That's why people don't have much. But I would like them to know that girls, such as me, who live here have dreams and that we work really hard to change our community and our life to make it better. We just need support and opportunity."

Every day, adolescent girls like Sheryl grapple with complex issues that are unique to their circumstances living in a slum, including early marriage and pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and unequal access to education. But they know that by working together and supporting one another, they can empower themselves and their community.

They have faith in where they're going. They have faith in the future.