Beautiful Surprises

Today I arrived in the office and worked more on the financials with Lucy and Emily. I then spent some time looking up organizations, both in Kenya and internationally, that may be interested in the work MGEF is doing. Several of the organizations I had heard of before—The Girl Effect (www.girleffect.org), Ford Foundation, Gates Foundation. Others were very interesting. For example, V-Day (www.vday.org) is the organization that sponsors the Vagina Monologues but it is actually an international organization that works to prevent violence against women. Also, the NoVo Foundation works towards the empowerment of women and girls. Finally, the Coalition for Adolescent Girls (www.coalitionforadolescentgirls.org) is devoted to empowering young women around the world. These are amazing organizations and if you are interested in women’s empowerment, you should check them out!

I had the privilege to meet some of Emily’s family members today—her sisters and brothers. Emily’s brother baptized me with a Maasai name. So my new name here is Naserian…which means blessings and peace! Emily is such a strong woman and she is very selfless. Everything that she earns, she shares with her family. As the last born in her family, she is supporting all the older siblings. I also got to meet Faith, the treasurer of MGEF and Winnie, one of the students that MGEF sponsors. Winnie is a great young woman and I talked to her a lot about her dream of being a journalist. We took out a map and talked about all of the places she could possibly travel to one day. Winnie told me that she is so thankful to MGEF because, before she was an MGEF student, she never dreamed the type of dreams that she has for herself now.

Later that day, we walked to AIC Primary School where a few of the MGEF students go. I had the amazing privilege to meet one of MGEF’s newest students. Her name is Regina and she is twelve years old. At age 11, Regina’s father was planning on marrying her off because he was in debt to another man. This man had married Regina’s older sister, but the sister ran away. Regina’s father was offering Regina as a replacement wife so that he didn’t have to pay back the dowry. When MGEF heard Regina’s story, they immediately sponsored her to go to school. Regina is now 12 years old and attending nursery school. She had NEVER stepped into a classroom because her father did not believe in educating girls. It was crazy to stand in front of Regina and see her huge smile and innocent face. Her laugh is beautiful, she is so eager to learn, and she has a vibrant personality. It broke my heart thinking of what she had been through and what she was saved from. Her story is so similar to that of thousands of other child brides around the world. It is the same story of Nujood…the first childbride to win a divorce in Yemen. Only Regina never had to be married off, never had to experience that pain and abuse because of MGEF. Because of the incredible, life-changing work it is doing.

In her book, Nujood has a wonderful quote, “Compared to dreams, reality can be truly cruel. But it can also come up with beautiful surprises.” Standing in front of Regina, I was blown away by her optimism, by her ability to just be happy. These young women are suffering so much, but they never complain…they just move forward and see the good in all the bad. Regina is truly a role model for all young women in this world.

I was able to just sit with Regina and read a book with her, play tic tac toe, and draw funny pictures. I wish that I could have explained to her how much I respect her, how strong she is, how proud I am of her. But sometimes you don’t need words to explain those emotions…sometimes a quick hug and some silly games can portray all of that. It was also amazing to see the girls at AIC interact with one another. One of the older girls took Regina aside with a book and started helping her learn how to read it. MGEF is truly providing a family, a support system for these girls.

Lucy, Emily, and I walked back to town. I love just walking with them. We laugh and joke and smile and simply appreciate each other’s company. Lucy brought me to see her home and meet her younger sister, Kate, who is about my age. I also saw a picture of Lucy’s fiancée, Kevin. I am so excited for Lucy and proud of her. It was wonderful to be welcomed into her home and into her life.

Back at the Kajiado Children’s Home, the children had attended a music festival. Some of the older girls were dressed in traditional Maasai clothing and I was able to compliment them and take their pictures. I played outside with some of the children and just felt surrounded by love. These children each have faced horrible things in their lives, but they keep going, keep smiling, and keep dreaming. They have faith that life is full of beautiful surprises.