International Day of the Girl Child 
International Day of the Girl Child
The lives of innocent children have been shattered.
Come look my brethren,
Mighty dreams have been thwarted.
My sister is a commodity of trade,
Only reaching to the third grade,
She found herself under a share,
She became property of an exchange,
Having no say over anything.
I have been longing for revenge,
Heavy penalty but got nothing,
Feel the life of my innocent sister.
This is a public outcry.
I insist on stiff measures,
Both in oceans and in dry,
It is a grievance from all creatures,
The inhuman act of RAPE.
Four humiliating offenses,
To my sister who lacks defenses,
Feel the same of my innocent sister.
My sister is depressed,
No second for deep rest,
In marriage she is oppressed,
Her property lives in her chest,
Financially she is pressed,
Me beast of burdens is hard-pressed,
No matter how she tries her best,
Her efforts are all compressed,
Restricted from searching her light to the west,
Look! She is denied of her life’s zest,
Why her alone and not the rest?
A women has the right to rest,
If allowed she is able to invest,
In enabled she will pass any test,
This is a true word not spoken in jest,
Instilled in me in order to teach the rest,
Feel the discomfort of my innocent sister.
Before my heart was burning hot,
But now I am grateful a lot,
Finally I have reached my lot,
I wish to halt on this spot,
Make a change as small as a dot,
To relieve my sister from the pot,
Because there is strength in everything I’ve got,
There is ability in my innocent sister.
Now that our 501(c)(3) is filed, we’ve started the journey of searching for grant funding to get our school off the ground, which essentially means devoting hours to navigating the tunnels of the internet. That is how I came to discover today is the International Day of the Girl Child, with a theme for 2018 of “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force.”
This falls in line with Msomi’s mission perfectly. Yes, we want to provide education to girls, but beyond that, we want to stand behind our students as they acquire skills they will take into the workforce and use to support themselves. Before they even graduate from primary school, our girls will have the experience of planting, growing, harvesting, and selling their own produce. Nothing boosts belief in oneself quite like doing, and with girls already believing by age 6 that boys are more suited than girls to “really, really smart” activities, we need to help girls see their own strength as soon as possible and to believe in themselves as fiercely as possible. #dayofthegirl #GenUnlimited
To learn more, visit the following:
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/girl-child
Links to some poems about International Day of the Girl Child
“U Have to Struggle More”
Untitled
https://www.worldpulse.com/en/community/users/lisbeth-salifu/posts/88918
Thank you to Sarah, our current intern, for coming across this celebration and writing this post!
