About
What is The Brave Girl Initiative all about?
Being a brave girl, is all about empowerment of self and others.
Eswatini is a small country in Southern Africa, but the dreams here are so big. Along with an impressive group of women, The Brave Girl Initiative ensures that our girls are educated and grounded in good moral values.
So we start at the very beginning…education and knowledge.
The Brave Girl Initiative gives us an opportunity to educate girls on more than just important subjects such as mathematics and science. We educate them about everyday issues that we face, or never learnt about until it was too late. We expand their knowledge on career choices, the ideals of beauty, diseases and illness that affect women today, mental illness, body images, living a healthy life etc. We want to give them resources of where to go for help, and we want to BE a resource of help. We want them to be girls and enjoy making life long girlfriends who can support each other.
Why do we care about girls in Eswatini?
We have a problem in Eswatini. Everyone is trying to survive, and it’s worse in the rural areas. Despite a diversified economy, rich in forestry, mining, textiles and sugar processing, nearly one-third of people in Eswatini experience food insecurity because of our changing climate. Small farms which provided food and basic income are now struggling through drought, floods, and extreme weather. People have difficulty recovering from even small losses, and those who are most affected are the children.
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/eswatini-climate-change-adaptation-plan-unfccc.pdf
- Lack of income: Girls are the first to be left behind. When money runs out for school, the boys might get to continue with their education but the girls are told to wait. In this region of Africa, the adolescent birth rate is twice the global rate, and adolescent girls are at a higher risk of HIV than boys or young men.
- Weakened education system: The education system has become weak because of so many strikes and so many ups and downs, corruption within the government in the last few years that teachers are just trying to survive for their own families and themselves. There are not a lot of teachers who can take time to mentor.
- Needs of girls are being forgotten: Mothers and fathers are trying to survive and we cannot blame them, times are tough. In the rural areas one saying you hear a lot is “Don’t they teach you that at school?” It’s always an expectation that the teachers are going to teach them all they need to know about cervical cancer, breast cancer, building their confidence, different careers choices, bullying, how to bathe properly and so much more. But everyone is trying to survive, yet everyone is expecting the other to teach and for these children to grow up with all the information they need to be success not survive. We can’t wait for the next person. So what do we do? We create the opportunities for our girls. Where we can get teachers and parents involved, we get them involved. But we no longer wait, as our girls are growing and there are many.
Mission
To create environments where girls are educated and empowered. To send out to the world girls who are informed and aware of the different issues and topics of life. To give them opportunities to learn new and good things so they discover their true purpose and make the best decisions while becoming contributing members of society and changing their own world.
Vision
To bring opportunities for education and purposeful social development to all girls.
Values
- Honesty -Because we give out information to teach others answers give knowledge we know that parents and guardians trust us to give truthful information at all times
- Unity -We cannot change the future of our youth without working together. This includes other organizations and donors
- Relationships -We don’t just want to give, empower and inspire, we want to see our girls make it, we want to go through the ups and downs with them. We want to celebrate and cry with them. We want to be a present help to best of our abilities.
Meet The Team
Meet our incredible team of dedicated ladies that are so passionate to see the lives of young girls being changed for the better.
Patience Nxumalo
Founder & Director
She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with a double minor in Business Management and Family Science from Anderson University in Indiana. Has a passion to serve young girls and empower them with knowledge to make it in life.
Mbali Smith-Dlamini
Sponsorship Coordinator
Mbali blesses our hearts with her bubbly personality. Always willing and ready to serve with truth and grace. A mother, wife and a social media influencer. She’s has a love for makeup and all things glam. We love how she encourages the girls to love themselves from within always.
Nokwanda Mathabela
After School Program Coordinator
She’s our rising star. A Preschool Teacher and College Graduate. She’s not only a mentee but a mentor with the Brave Girl Initiative. A writer who is passionate about philanthropy and desires to see girls achieve all their dreams. This makes her a true asset to our organization and also to the world.
