Reposted from veezinsight
So now that Corps Africa mid-service training and Age Africa scholars retreat is over, I sat down and started reflecting on most of the issues and topics that had been discussed throughout my two weeks away from site, the most recent thought that came to my head was that on the issues of Gender that was facilitated by Katherine during the first two days of Mid Service training, I don’t clearly remember what we were talking about specifically in our talks but I remember the word EMPOWERED being thrown on the table, and to my surprise a couple of my colleagues were not happy with the word that was used…. “empowered,” this really came to a shock for me because I really didn’t see that coming, now of course they had a logical reasoning for not liking the word, because to them, the word EMPOWERED as though women are weak and don’t have the capability of making it on their own in life therefore they need some boost to get them going, my colleagues argued that it makes it sound like they are not capable of making it on their own. I was so curious by the debate that went on and I begged to differ because for me, my understanding of the word EMPOWER, means to make someone stronger and confident especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights. To me being Empowered means realizing you're highest potential that gives you that sheer confidence to forge ahead and achieve your goals and dreams and of course understanding that there may be a number of obstacles along the way but we have to forge through those. But, in the society we live in, especially in the Malawian rural community, realizing your potential is something that not all girls/women get to realize easily. That’s why when Age Africa invited four girls from my Community, Sarah (fellow CorpsAfrica Volunteer) and I to their 2016 Scholars retreat themed SHE EMPOWERED (which stands for Safety, Health and Education), I couldn’t be more excited.