Girls' Club
The Girls’ Club is a place for girls to talk about their daily lives and by studying and learning from the Bible gaining insight in their lives.
We also play games, draw, learn and chat.
Aim
The aim of the Girl’s Club is passing on information and knowledge, so girls get more insight into their own lives. We also coach girls in learning to getting to know God, so He will ultimately be the One Who will influence their choices in life.
History
In 2009, during the After School program, we found out that especially teenage girls had a lack of knowledge and self-esteem. At home little is said about problems the girls are confronted and struggling with. So, we started a girls’ club with a small number of girl, and by doing so developed a program for a Girls’ Club.
Through the years we have organized two or sometimes three clubs for girls simultaneously in groups of about 14 to 16 girls. This is long haul work, since the girls are very easily influenced by the social context they are growing up in. Almost all girls still marry before they are 16, and often end up in a unhealthy relationship. It is difficult for them to run a family, so their children also have uncertain futures. We hope and pray that this vicious circle can be overcome with Gods help.
What does the program look like?
We collect the girls at their homes, since their mothers are not likely to let them go out into the streets. On arrival at the club we have a chat to find out how everyone is doing while drinking a nice hot cup of tea.
We start with a prayer, then sing a few songs and learn a text from the Bible, followed by the lesson, which is combined with a game or writing assignment dealing with the subject. The lessons are about relationships, emotions, physical and mental elements of puberty, menstruation and sexuality. All lessons are taught in light of the Bible and the fact that we are created so we can honour God.
Afterwards the girls draw and chat. Sometimes we play musical chairs or some other game. Then we take the girls home, hoping they will be present the next time.
Why do we do it?
We regularly wonder whether this ministry is useful. Do you the girls still marry before their 18th birthday? Unfortunately, they do. Do they always make the proper choice finding the right husband? No, they often don’t. Do young mothers no longer end up in situations in which they are abused and treated unfairly? Unfortunately, they regularly do. Are the young mothers able to be financially independent? Almost never.
But what is the effect of more than ten years of work in the Girls’ Club? We pay a lot of attention to transfer of knowledge, such as factual knowledge about e.g. girls’ and boys’ anatomy and cause and effect in relationships. Besides, the things we hear from the young generation of mothers are very promising. A young mother told she regretted the choices she made as a 15 year old, but is now trying het utmost to prevent her daughter from them. You were right after all, is something we get to hear a lot from the young women who were members of the Girls’ Club. We are looking ahead and hope we influence the girls in a good and constructive way. We are doing our utmost; we sow and then leave our work to our Heavenly Father.
