Interviews

During my spring break, I did some informational interviews with my supervisor Temi Famodu. I really enjoyed the chance to interview three different women I found in “CRAVE Chicago: Urban Girl’s Manifesto” with all different businesses.

First, I interviewed the Global Adrenaline founders, Nancy Schumacher and Meredith Mason. Global Adrenaline is partnered with Northwestern University, and whenever their alumni are interested in traveling, they contact Global Adrenaline to assist them in their trip. I learned a lot! Each of them taught me that whatever happens, as long as you love what you are doing you will be wherever you wanted to be.

The second person I interviewed was Amber from Urban Worm Girl who happens to be in the CRAVE book, too. I found Urban Worm Girl’s job very interesting because they use worms to compost trash! It’s both unexpected and useful.

The final person I interviewed was Dr. Ngozi Ezike who is also on the board of GirlForward. She is both a children’s and adult’s doctor. I find Dr. Ngozi very inspiring because in the future I want to be doing the job that I love, that motivates me.

Advice that I want to say for girls like me is get involved in your community, get yourself motivated, talk to other women who are more experienced than you and ask for help with whatever you need help with.

One thing I found interesting about the informational interviews was the chance to ask women any questions that I had, and to really learn from their experiences. One question that I found useful during the informational interviews was “what is something that keeps you motivated all the time to do your job?” This is the biggest thing everybody needs. We all need something that keeps us motivated to do our work. I learned that it is really important to love your job, and love whatever you want to do, and to not give up.

Safe Spaces Project

During the last few months we have been working on the Safe Spaces Project, talking to many businesses around Devon to partner with us in making our neighborhood safe for girls. We nominated 10 businesses to serve as safe locations for girls, and then we gave each business a sticker that says “Safe Space” that they can put on their door. Girls from GirlForward and other people in the neighborhood can trust this place as a safe place to stop in and as for directions or help. Obviously, everybody needs to be safe, so this project is important! Safety is a basic thing for everybody. Since we are working with girls, our main priority is to make sure these girls are safe. Families should not be worried to send their girls to GirlForward, and this program has helped to make this happen.

My favorite community partner in this process was Devon Bank. I feel that this location is safe, and anybody can feel safe coming in and asking for help. Republic Bank was another good location because there are a lot of nice people who work there and we already have a good relationship with these employees.

This entire process has been so fun and educational. I am looking forward to joining summer camp with GirlForward and I’ll be doing this kind of project in the future!

- Aklesiya, GirlForward Junior Intern

Laura Bowers is a senior at Loyola University Chicago studying social work and sociology. Laura joined GirlForward as our Outreach Intern in Fall 2012 as part of her social work program. When Laura was abroad in Spain, she worked with local Arab, African, and Latino immigrant communities, which grew Laura’s passion for cross-cultural collaboration and community empowerment. It’s pretty obvious to us that social work is a great fit for Laura. She is kind, compassionate, and always positive. Laura dedicates much of her time at GirlForward to working one-on-one with girls – helping them with assignments, communicating with families – as well as planning and leading our educational workshops.

In addition to the work she does in the office, another thing that makes Laura such a terrific member of our team is her passion for empowering women and girls. Laura really understands and believes in GirlForward’s mission, and that makes her one of our best advocates. Last fall, Laura represented GirlForward at a grant salon put on by Burners Without Borders, winning GirlForward a micro-grant for our Safe Spaces Project.

THANK YOU, Laura, for being a stellar intern! To learn more about Laura’s work with GirlForward and to get all our updates, follow us on Facebook!

To begin, Aklesiya identified some of the major safety concerns of GirlForward girls:

1. Getting lost in the neighborhood – who should you ask for directions if you miss your bus? Who can you go to for help if you don’t have a phone and need to call your parents?

2. Access to reliable communication – what if you are late coming home from school and need to tell your parents but do not have a cell phone?

3. Asking for help – What if somebody was following you and you need a safe place to go for a moment?

Aklesiya doing some interview research!

Aklesiya suggests that we go about addressing these concerns by finding places in the community (such as local businesses) that are able to assist girls if they ever find themselves in these situations. Aklesiya will be working with GirlForward staff to create a map that shows potential locations in her community that girls like her can feel comfortable asking for directions, reporting a crime, or waiting for a parent to pick them up. Once these safe space locations are decided upon, Aklesiya will work with GirlForward staff to establish partnerships with businesses that want to be part of our initiative. Each Safe Space will be marked with a special logo so that girls in the community know that they can use this resource. Aklesiya will lead our GirlForward team in distributing maps of the Safe Spaces to girls and their families.

Because Aklesiya is so new to the United States, she knows what it’s like to be a teenage girl in a new neighborhood, and her insight is what is making this project so great! In addition to leading the Safe Spaces Neighbors Campaign, Aklesiya is also getting an opportunity to learn about her new Chicago community and gain skills that will help her as she looks toward her future. Aklesiya has spent the past few weeks identifying women in the city with unique jobs and cool stories. She will be conducting informational interviews with these women to find out what their careers are all about. As we have worked together to find potential interviewees, we have discussed and reviewed proper interview etiquette, as well as how to write a professional e-mail.

“I think these informational interviews are really important because for us girls who are still in school and who are planning to start our businesses, we can learn a lot from these women about how they succeed in their lives,” Aklesiya says.

Some questions that Aklesiya has come up with for her interviewees include:

1. What motivates you?
2. What helps you to keep on going and not give up?
3. What are your inspirations?
4. How did you break through obstacles?

“Our project is going faster than I thought I am really excited to see what the outcome of this project will be. This project is very important because girls need very great safety, and we are trying to make Chicago a safe place for all girls. I’ve learned a lot from this project, especially from the informational interview process.”

Stay tuned for more updates from Aklesiya and our Safe Spaces Project!

-Temi Famodu, Outreach Intern

Sara (far left) with friends during Camp GirlForward 2012

But as Sara mentioned, school shouldn’t just be about tests and homework, it should also be about community. Community is something that Sara has reflected on a lot during her in Chicago.

“At other schools there is a lot of refugees. It is much easier to fit in there. Sometimes it is hard to connect with people who don’t understand your experiences or the things you have been through. It is hard because I don’t really know my home country. I left when I was so young, but here I am defined by Iraq. I don’t even remember how the dust of Iraq smelled. I want to breath in the fresh air of the place I was born.”

Fortunately, Sara has found her community among the amazing girls at GirlForward. “GirlForward is so cool because we all understand each other. It was so easy to make friends at Camp GirlForward because of that. Even though we are all refugees we all have different stories. It was really nice to learn about people you already share a connection with.” At the end of our reflection, I asked Sara to share her hopes and dreams for the future. “I want to inspire other people to follow their dreams and be what they want to be. I want to encourage people to never let anyone stand in their way. This is a promise I’ve made to myself.”

- Laura Bowers, Outreach Intern

This was one of the main items of discussion last night at the first gathering of our spring financial literacy series. Over the next few weeks, GirlForward girls will be completing several workshops in order to learn the basics of money management. Last night, we began the series with a two-hour session focusing primarily on our future goals – where do we want to be in 5 years? How are we going to get there?

There is a widely recognized need for more financial education in the United States. Young people are graduating from high school – actually, they’re even graduating from college! -  without any idea how to manage their money.

GirlForward is dedicated to providing refugee girls with the tools and knowledge they need to be successful, independent adults. Knowing how to budget and save are obviously very important pieces of this. This knowledge is especially important for girls who hold so much power and responsibility when it comes to their families’ financial decisions, even if they don’t recognize this to be the case. Girls grocery shop for their families. They buy electronics. They buy medicine at the drug store. Shouldn’t these girls have the best access to financial education?

Here’s the thing. There are some resources out there devoted to “financial literacy.” There’s “MyMoney.gov” which provides a good assortment of financial education resources, including “Money Smart.” But when you take a look at the components of this curriculum and others, the very first chapter is often bank services, or loans, or checking accounts.

That just doesn’t work for us. While some of our girls’ families have debit cards and bank accounts, there are a great deal more with crumpled up dollar bills under the rug in their living room. But not only that – if you’re 15 years old, are you really going to pay attention to a lesson about money when the very first topic is the bank? I can actually see the girls falling asleep just thinking about it.

Money is an important part of our lives, and we should talk about it this way. That’s why our financial education series is based on “Young Women: Your Future, Your Money,” a curriculum developed by the Population Council and several banks in Kenya. Yes, Kenya.

This curriculum is used in large slums in Kenya, where small groups of adolescent girls gather together to learn about money and their future. They discuss their future goals and how saving money can help them reach those goals. They plot out the personal strengths they can utilize, the weaknesses they can improve upon, the opportunities available to them, and the threats they need to plan to overcome.

It might sound odd to use a curriculum designed for girls in Kenya on the far north side of Chicago. But our girls have never had financial education before. Some of them have been, with help from GirlForward, the first in their families to open a bank account of any kind – or they will be in a few weeks. We know that they will soon need to learn about checking accounts and interest and maybe even student loans. But for now, we need their attention. They need to be invested in this subject matter before we can address the less exciting parts of it. And when they understand how this new knowledge of money will bring them a more successful future, they listen.

- Blair Brettschneider, Executive Director

Sara and I have done quite a few things!  We tried new foods together – Sara had never had lobster before.  We went to Navy Pier for the winter wonderland festival, went to the mall to walk around, and saw a 3D movie. We went to Millenium park and the Chicago Cultural center to walk about and take pictures because Sara really enjoys photography. We have also gone to the library and the bowling alley!

Mentor Meredith and her mentee, Depika!

Here at GirlForward we are busy ringing in the new year and celebrating National Mentoring Month! This month is all about honoring the wonderful women who dedicate their time and their hearts to GirlForward’s Mentorship Program. Whether it’s help with homework and college applications, exploring the city, or simply offering advice, our mentors work hard to make sure that their mentees have the tools and motivation to pursue their dreams.

There is so much we could say about why GirlForward’s mentors are so special, but we thought it would be better to have the girls tell you themselves! This month we interviewed some of GirlForward’s mentees to get the inside scoop on what they enjoy most about spending time with their mentors.

Neera, a freshman in high school from Bhutan, said, “I love spending time with my mentor because she is fun and we share lots of things. Whenever I need help with my schoolwork she is there for me. Sometimes we go out and do things like ice-skating. Last week we even celebrated our birthdays together!”

Depika, another one of our Bhutanese representatives and one of our most dedicated GirlForward ambassadors shared, “I like hanging out with my mentor because I get to practice English and work on homework. We do fun stuff like going to the movies and cooking new food.”

Sara, an enthusiastic high school freshman from Iraq, told us, “I really like my mentor because she’s fun and exciting. It’s good to have a mentor because you can ask questions and get advice.”

Beatrice, a GirlForward member from the DR Congo, was especially excited to tell us, “I feel great with my mentor because she is so nice to me. We hang out while we work on my homework. She teaches me things I did not know, and she is very helpful! We even went to the beach at Lake Michigan and watched a football game together.”

At GirlForward, we believe that our mentors deserve more than one month of celebration for all of their hard work, and we can’t wait to connect more of Chicago’s brilliant and inspiring women with GirlForward’s new mentees! - Laura Bowers, GirlForward Outreach Intern

If you’d like to be one of these cool mentors our girls can’t stop raving about, visit our Volunteer page. Enjoy the rest of National Mentoring Month!

I was really excited to meet my mentee. She is exactly how I pictured her… she is sweet, smart and very friendly. We talked about how she moved to the U.S. and how she’s doing in school. I also met her brother and we just talked about their new experiences. They were both very welcoming. They even prepared a meal for me which was delicious. I felt a connection with her from the start because I also come from another country. We share the same challenges which instantly created a bond between us. We also share the same birthday which I think is really cool!

I just like being able to talk to her and offer advice when she needs it. I feel like most of us just need someone to just listen when we have problems or even just talk about our dreams and aspirations. I love being able to discuss our dreams and how we plan on achieving them. I also love learning about her culture.

I’m excited to start going around the city with her to learn and see more of Chicago. I know personally that I haven’t been to a lot of the attractions that Chicago offers. It will be fun to share these experiences with her. I also want to document our trips and hopefully start a scrapbook together so we can keep track of all the places we’ve been! Maybe someday she can look at this and see how far she’s been since moving to the U.S., and maybe even share this with her family in the future.

GirlForward matches refugee girls in Chicago with awesome mentors like Charleen so they can have better access to opportunities and achieve their goals. The girls in our programs face tremendous challenges: poverty, language barriers, and social isolation, just to name a few. GirlForward tackles these challenges through our Mentorship Program, Camp GirlForward (our summer academic program) and our program center where girls can come for help with homework, college applications, and more. We have reached over 50 girls since 2011 – but with your help, we can do so much more! Click here to help GirlForward reach 100 girls in 2013. Your donation is tax-deductible, and every contribution goes a long way in providing essential programming to refugee girls.

Hi, Angela! How is it going?
My first few weeks as a GirlForward mentor have been incredible. My mentee is 17 years old and a junior in high school, so she’s thinking about college, which is exciting to be a part of.

How was your first meeting?
Our first meeting was very smooth – we connected right away and mostly just worked on homework together at her house. Her siblings were so sweet as well – bringing us study snacks and such.

What do you like most about being a GirlForward mentor?
What I like most about being a GirlForward mentor so far is seeing how excited my mentee is to be a part of this program. Her enthusiasm is awesome. I love when we finish the homework portion of our meeting and chat about her friends, family, and goals.

What kinds of things will you be working on this year?
I really look forward to helping her through the process of looking at colleges. I would be honored to be a part of her dream to become a businesswoman.

Right on! We can’t wait to hear more about what Angela and Hadeel are up to. Be sure to check out our next Mentor Spotlight, which will be posted in December.

GirlForward girls and Girl Scouts from countries around the world at an event earlier this year.

Keep it real role models!

Recently I did a class project that involved reaching out to a person who is a role model in my life. Sometimes when we get stuck we forget to reflect on people who inspire us and help us grow. My class assignment allowed me to really think about someone who has left a lasting impact on me, and has challenged me to think about things in a different way. I decided to reach out to a woman named Trista Harris who has done some pretty cool things. I simply sent her an e-mail to let her know that I was still thinking about an informational interview that I conducted with her back when I was in high school. This exercise reminded me that it is so important to tell people that we appreciate them! If we don’t say anything, they’ll never know how they have made an impact on us. My challenge for you on this Day of the Girl is tell someone you appreciate them and why. It’s the simplest way to make someone’s day!

Am I better today than I was yesterday?

To be quite honest, thinking about the future often gives me a minor anxiety attack. This being said, the only thing that seems to calm me down is creating to-do lists, and thinking about some achievable goals. It so easy to get in the rhythm of our schedules and forget to think about how we are progressing. This year on Day of the Girl, I am going to pledge to take it slow and ask myself, “am I better today than I was yesterday? If not, what can I change?” This will help relieve the unbearable stress of trying to achieve every goal on my list immediately, and allow me to think about my decisions of the day and how I am growing. Try it out!

Girls doing good

This year on Day of the Girl, I wanted to take a few seconds to see what girls around the world are doing to promote justice in their communities. This week the world was inspired by the courage of 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai from Mingora, Pakistan. As the daughter of a school owner and education activist, Malala began advocating for women’s education at a very young age. In 2009, when the Taliban invaded the Swat Valley, Malala began writing a blog for the BBC that chronicled her life under the Taliban’s regime and their ban against girl’s education. As her words resonated with women all around the world the Taliban began to search for the courageous voice behind the anonymous name – “grief stricken” – that Malala used to sign her blog. The Taliban finally found Malala earlier this week on her school bus and shot her in the neck and head in a tragic assassination attempt. The world is in awe of Malala’s strength and perseverance as she struggles to recover from the wounds that nearly took her life. Malala’s story is proof that it is never too young to empower and educate young women, and that each girl has the power to make a difference in her community. This year on Day of the Girl, I challenge you to learn someone else’s story of courage.

I have been chatting with my fellow GirlForward interns about what we want to see happen in our community for future Day of the Girl extravaganzas. We would love to see this entire city come together for a celebration for Day of the Girl every year. If you want to help out, or if you would like to promote your city, sign this pledge!

Obviously, at GirlForward every day is Day of the Girl. But it is great to see so many people and organizations come together today to lift up girls around the world.

- Temi Famodu, Outreach Intern