On May 19th, the Global Give Back Circle hosted its 2018 Annual Renewal Ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya. This year’s theme was ‘Giving Back,’ and the event brought together beneficiaries and benefactors of the program, including: alumna, beneficiaries in college, mentors, private sector partners, and local community members. Everyone celebrated and renewed their commitment to the ‘Circle’ for another year. We also had the pleasure of appreciating all beneficiaries and Alumna, who are giving back to their communities, by acknowledging the impact they are making in society. These incredible women shared words of wisdom with the younger beneficiaries –encouraging them to harness their passion and create practical solutions for positive change.
Renewing Give Back Commitments:
In honor of this renewal, the girls reviewed their Give Back Commitment and measured the impact it has had on their communities and themselves over the last year. They also discussed solutions to the challenges they faced during implementation and reflected on what they could have done to make their commitments even more effective. We were so impressed by how impactful they were and the number of lives directly and indirectly touched by the girls’ commitments.
Alumni-Lead Workshops:
Unique to this year’s Renewal Ceremony were the Alumna-taught workshops on health education that the beneficiaries attended after the main event. These workshops were organized and delivered by Alumna, who are now working as medical professionals. The workshops covered topics from lifestyle diseases to mental health to cancer awareness. The younger girls learned about risk factors, the importance of health assessment, and the various preventive measures for the diseases. This workshop helped to raise awareness about healthy decision-making and supplied the girls with useful skills, resources, and information to share with their peers and community.
Our Key Note Speaker:
Our Key note speaker this year was Ms. Betty Adera. She is passionate about matters related to youth and goes out of her way to advocate for them. She is the Founder and President of Betty Adera Foundation and is also the Chief of Party of the DREAMS Initiative, a PEPFAR Initiative targeting adolescent girls and young women that implements HIV prevention interventions in the informal urban settlements of Nairobi City County, Kenya. In the Global Give Back Circle Program, she is a mentor to two mentees: Nelly Mpuhwe from Rwanda and Perpetual Mukami from Starehe Girls’ Center in Nairobi. What stood out from her inspiring speech at the 2018 Annual Renewal Ceremony was her message on ‘Giving’:
“People are not defined by what they get, but what they give. Let your story be defined by your giving and by those people you help… A little can go a long way.”
To hear more of Betty Adera’s empowering speech, see the video below:
