Our girls need us

“I DID receive the workbook for my daughter, but she is in the UCI because she attempted suicide.” I was devastated when I heard these words and I can only imagine how the mom felt. Her daughter was one of the young ladies who registered for the Confidence Becomes You programme. This incident made me more intentional about the upcoming session which was hours away and I thank God she is better now.

Our girls are facing many challenges and sometimes can feel as if they are alone and that is a terrible feeling. I have visited many schools in the last five years and found it so fulfilling. Many of the students keep in touch with me and most times share what they are going through. That Sunday turned out to be one of the most empowering Sundays for the year because of the interaction with young ladies ages 12 to 16 who participated in the Confidence Becomes You. Every time I see a young lady who is lacking confidence it reminds me of myself years ago. I know the advantages of having a high self-esteem and confidence.

My foundation in collaboration with the Women Across Borders hosted this meaningful virtual programme. Women Across Borders is more than an anthology, it is a mission! Having phenomenal women from different parts of the world who are willing to empower others is a blessing.
One of the facilitators shared what it was like for her.

“First of all, l would like to thank Sonia Noel for inviting me to share with these amazing young women whose energy totally blessed me on Sunday. It was very humbling to sit before their eager and open spirits as they hooked up to the energy that was being exchanged. Every presenter was powerful and inspiring beyond words. I see the great need for us to help direct our future women and how important it is to offer guidance and most importantly, love. Each of us was in their shoes at some point of our lives and at times we find ourselves there. What is important is that we stick to the process of transformation and not focus on the destination. Growth is as never-ending as love is. Love to all you beautiful souls from Tavia Hunte, Antigua.”

Beautiful souls indeed. I look at their beautiful faces and eager eyes and thought about myself at that age and wished I had facilitators like these to share their journeys with me. The participants came from various parts of the United States and Guyana, including Fairview Village and my hometown Bartica.
One of the other facilitators we Dr Raquel Thomas-Caesar and she shared her experience

“It was a pleasure to join Sonia and the other amazing facilitators for this session with these wonderful teens. To have the Fair View group join was an added bonus. Our teens need more of these sessions and mentors. I would like to encourage more persons to get on board mentorship programmes for our teens, both our boys and girls. They need us more than ever in these challenging times. The pressures our youth face are enormous and we need to be there for them. Many parents are also struggling and in need of support. I love engaging with our youth and can’t wait for post-COVID when we can return to schools with our Love Revolution project.”

The Love Revolution was introduced in schools earlier this year through my foundation and we had big plans to go throughout Guyana, but COVID-19 had other plans. We are working on a virtual Love Revolution campaign because it is needed as much as confidence.

“Confidence is a muscle we need to nurture and build.
It is developed with transformative life experiences. This platform created by Sonia Noel achieved exactly that. We recognised that the young participants at the beginning were rather timid and needed coaxing to share visual screens or voice their thoughts. But as each speaker shared her story and her advice, these brilliant young minds felt more comfortable to open up, connect and share their challenges. They learnt there is bravery and courage in being authentic and vulnerable. It was an amazing experience for me as a mother and a mentor.
We need to create more opportunities like this for young girls to develop their confidence, as they are our future decision makers, our future world leaders.”
Dr Safeeya Mohammed,CEO, SISU Global Wellness,Trinidad.

The young ladies asked many profound questions and the presenters were excited to interact and answer the questions.
Bethany Hanna, who is an Intuitive Coach said: “Each person has a different way of presenting, giving each young woman a different perspective and also maybe reaching one that didn’t hear the first time. It was powerful energy. I also see the need to set up a mentorship group for young women if they want and we have the ability to do once a month. We have received many messages from parents and participants requesting more sessions and we will certainly do so because these girls are our future
All the presenters are willing and think we need follow up sessions including Nancy Saiboh from Cameroon who is the founder of Empower Her Africa.”

“ I would like to first of all thank Sonia Noel for allowing me to interact with these young girls, and meeting empowered women who are passionate about the girl child. The session with the girls was amazing. I loved how these girls interacted with the speakers via questions. Given that we had limited time, I will propose we hold this kind of meeting monthly to follow up with the girls.”

Women Across Borders is on a transformational mission. The Men Across Borders Mission will be hosting a similar forum for young boys as we continue to celebrate the beautiful journey called life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.

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