GLAMI HISTORY
GLAMI has grown and changed a lot over the years – we have been supporting and promoting girls’ education since 2001!
Early Years
In 2001, 16 year old Ashley Shuyler founded AfricAid, following a life-changing trip to Tanzania five years earlier. During that trip, she met many children her age who did not have the opportunity to go to school. She learned that girls, in particular, face significant challenges in trying to obtain an education. Realizing that this leads to a cycle of poverty – and recognizing just how powerful girls’ education can be in changing the futures of individuals and communities – she established AfricAid to help transform the landscape of opportunity for young women in Tanzania.
In its early years, AfricAid focused on providing scholarships and direct support to Tanzanian schools, and was incorporated as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Denver, Colorado, USA.
In 2010, AfricAid decided to adopt a more strategic approach to girls’ education, in order to more holistically address the structural barriers facing even the most academically accomplished young women. Our new approach reflected the belief that young women, in particular those who have achieved entrance to upper secondary school, have incredible potential to become future leaders and catalysts for change in their communities. These young women, however, need additional skills, knowledge and confidence to reach their potential. It was from this knowledge that AfricAid’s flagship program, the Kisa Project, was born.
AfricAid TZ and the Kisa Project
In 2010, AfricAid TZ (Tanzania) was registered as an official Tanzanian non-profit organization, and became the program implementation arm of AfricAid. Through extensive research on best practices and successful models throughout East Africa, the AfricAid TZ team developed a leadership and life skills training curriculum and identified a number of essential activities which together form the Kisa Project.
Over the years we’ve honed the Kisa Curriculum, built an exceptional mentoring program, and seen Kisa Scholars thrive far beyond secondary school. 97% of Kisa Scholars have gone on to further study, including university; several have been accepted into leadership training programs overseas. During this time the Kisa Project has expanded to over 25 secondary schools in Arusha and Kilimanjaro Regions in Tanzania and impacted thousands of young women.
Binti Shupavu
Due to the remarkable success of the Kisa Project, in 2016 AfricAid conducted a participatory needs assessment in the Kilimanjaro Region to determine the key barriers preventing girls from completing secondary school. After the participatory needs assessment, AfricAid customized a new program to address key obstacles faced by adolescent girls, including gender discrimination, early marriage, poverty, and lack of self-confidence. The program is called Binti Shupavu, which means Courageous Daughters in Swahili.
In January 2017, we launched the pilot for Binti Shupavu in 9 Partner Schools, recruiting 810 girls to join. As of 2020, Binti Shupavu is active in 22 partner schools, with more than 4,500 Scholars currently enrolled.
AfricAid TZ becomes GLAMI!
In mid-2018, Tanzanian laws governing NGOs and other non-profit organizations changed, and AfricAid TZ was required to re-register as a Non-Government Organization. Our new name – Girls Livelihood and Mentorship Initiative, or GLAMI for short – reflects our commitment to locally driven, contextually relevant mentoring programs that support girls to build confidence in themselves, to seize their educational opportunities and become the leaders of tomorrow.
AfricAid, Inc. continues to operate as a sister organization to GLAMI, with the two organizations working in tandem: AfricAid, Inc. and the US Board have a strong focus on fundraising and on sharing collective learnings to advance mentorship opportunities for girls; and GLAMI and the GLAMI Board focuses on program design, operation, implementation and measurement.
LOOKING FORWARD
As we have grown over the last two decades, AfricAid and GLAMI have together demonstrated that relatively simple, low-cost interventions during secondary school can have a significant impact on girls, creating a positive ripple effect across all of Tanzania.
As sister organizations, we are currently poised for significant strategic growth. GLAMI will continue to expand programmatic reach to thousands of adolescent girls throughout Tanzania. In the coming years, we plan to continue adding more Partner Schools for the Kisa Project, and scaling Binti Shupavu to as many public schools as possible, while expanding the resources provided to the growing number of Alumnae from both programs. Our collective aims are to increase the recognition and importance of mentorship and development of soft skills in girls’ education and empowerment programs. We are also focused on increasing the body of knowledge and support for girls’ life skills and leadership education.
Our long-term goal is to provide the benefit of robust mentoring programs to as many secondary school girls as we possibly can, developing leaders and transforming communities across the country.