“It takes a community to raise a child.”
Often times we think that good education is the only way to ensure that a girl child can be successful in life. The Trust’s Nutrition Program officer and Nutrition Champion, Christine Muyama, believes that there is more to developing a complete and fulfilled adult. She shares seven things that she believe every girl needs to have to ensure that she realizes her fullest potential.
#1 Good nutrition
A good life starts with good nutrition. Nutrition plays a great part in the life cycle of a person. If you don’t get enough nutrients or get over nourished during any time of your life it can negatively impact your physical and mental development and can increase risks of disease and early death. A poor diet can make your body weak, make you tired and less able to do day-to-day activities, and can make you more likely to become ill. Ensuring a good nutrition on the other side gives you a good start in life as your brain will develop to its full capacity and this puts you in a good position to embark on the journey of life.
#2 Good education
This is the obvious I could say, education will help you achieve your dream or aim in life. This could range from becoming rich, being popular, being respected by people. Well, education will definitely give you that, your level of education will help you realize all your dreams. So, go for the most that you can achieve in education, the higher you go with education the more opportunities open up for you.
#3 Having dreams and aspirations
What drives you is a very important part in the life of the girl child. If we set our ambitions too low in life, we end up achieving those and becoming comfortable in our choices. We have to set our life aspirations bar very high so that it sets the bar to how much we work in life. Every girl needs to have role models who can push her to reach our greatest potential. Every girl also needs to start dreaming bigger.
#4 Peers to share your path
Your company says volumes about you and also determines how far you will go in life. The ambition of your peers plays a big part in helping you shape your future; you need to surround yourself with like-minded people who have a similar vision of which kind of life they want to lead. Every girl therefore needs to be allowed to have room to find friends to share her path who will inspire her and help her shape her future.
#5 Physical Activity
Physical activity not only supports health but is one of the best ways to develop social skills and ensure good mental health. This is more so with team-based activities. This is a place where new ideas are born, listening to one another as part of a group, and working as a team to solve problems. These social skills have numerous benefits that is reaped in the future. Girls should thus be encouraged to participate in sport and other team activities that encourage them to succeed in life.
#6 Confidence and courage
Some times confidence is the only attribute that distinguished you from the person next to you. Being able to confidently present yourself and articulately present your ambitions can open doors for you. So, in order to succeed in life a girl child needs to grow up in an environment that boosts her confidence and allows her to express herself without being judged.
#7 Support and safety
As women and girls, we are very vulnerable and we need a safe haven to flourish. Statistics show that a lot of women and children fall victim to violent crimes and domestic abuse. In order to raise successful and empowered women we need to protect girls from all forms of violence and abuse. This protection should be extended to the home and schools.
Christine Muyama
Graca Machel Trust Nutrition Program officer
Nutrition Champion
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.