“Girls Reflect on their participation at the 2nd Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) Festival in Accra, Ghana”

In June of 2022, four Women for a Change members and the MIFALI adolescent movement attended the 2nd Adolescent Girls and Young Women Festival in Accra, Ghana. The event brought over 200 girls and young women across 54 African countries under the theme ‘I Speak 4 Myself’. With the aim of showcasing the African woman and girls’ realities in relation to challenges faced within the continent – from poverty to traditional beliefs and practices which keeps them oppressed, such as school-related gender violence, child marriage, and female genital mutilation, among others and how these women and girls over the years continue to explore strategies to dismantle and emancipate girls and young women from patriarchal systems of injustice practised in African countries. In reflecting on their experiences, Jordane Sournier (18) says, “Being an adolescent girl in my community and a member of an adolescent movement like MIFALI allowed me to be selected to attend the 2nd AGYW festival in Accra Ghana, which changed my life. I never knew that I would have such an opportunity to attend such a meeting”.

“While I was excited about the entire experience, I also had fears – not being able to meet the expectations. Traveling for the first time for me was something I thought it would be like traveling from one region to another in my country but I never knew that we have so many things to consider for which I had never prepared for. This includes getting all your vaccinations, including the COVID-19 vaccine. While on the flight too, with the changing attitudes, so too were my ears whistling and making me so uneasy but that was just for the trip to Cameroon – Togo, which was our transit. The experience was different from Togo to Accra, Ghana”.

According to Halley Kate (16), “I feel blessed and fortunate to had taken part in this program as it was very educative, inspiring, entertaining and marvelous”. While at the 2nd AGYW Festival, “I got to be surrounded by beautiful people from this lovely continent. As such, I  had the opportunity to learn about the cultures and lived realities of girls from some other African countries…As a shy girl, I found my voice as I developed some courage to speak and interact with girls my age”.

In a similar sentiment, 16-year-old Sharlette reflects on her experience, sharing, “While my first trip abroad will always be memorable, it is the preparation that will forever remain in my memory”.

“When plans were being made for our Accra trip, I kept touching myself for I could not believe it was happening! It was supposed to be a package learning exchange with other girls from other countries for four nights and five days, and we were hoping to cover as much as we could in the limited time. When D-Day approached, all were up and about before time. We reached the airport like excited school children, out on an excursion. Once aboard, I had my eyes fixed on the Air Hostesses. We reached in a couple of hours after having a transit in Lome Togo, and I was excited about the change in the time zone. The next few days were busy enough to make us go dizzy. We were engaged in discussions concerning girls and young women, especially on issues affecting them. The land was beautiful beyond doubt. Coupled with strict laws and cleanliness all around. It was a pleasure to see that a festival like this could be hosted in Accra, Ghana, pulling about 50 young girls and women from around the continent who can Speak for themselves and equally Speak for their peers.

As the saying goes that all good things come to an end. The end of the 2nd AGYW was finally here, and we returned to our homes with great memories and more awareness as the event sparked activism in us. And we can’t stop thanking women for a Change Cameroon for this opportunity; without them we couldn’t have gotten this great opportunity. Our sincere gratitude equally goes to our peers from MIFALI who gave us all the necessary support we needed. We therefore promise to remain loyal to our peers and our umbrella organization, Women for a Change Cameroon”.