Hope for The Village Child Foundation invited young girls from different communities to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child. The international Day of the Girl Child, observed on October 11th each year, had as its theme this year, “Digital Generation Our Generation.” This international day was established to promote and empower the girl child around the world, to raise the awareness about the unique challenges girls face and to advocate for their rights and equality in education, health care and opportunities for girls to reach their full potentials. In line with that, the program of HVCF combined all there is a presentation on how social media can be used in each of these areas.
Mr. Immanuel Yammy used a slide presentation as well as examples to assist the girls to gain fuller understanding of how, for example, they can use social media to earn money by marketing their own products. He gave practical demonstration on how to locate knowledge that would help them develop skills, e.g., YouTube DIY (Do It Yourself). It is not necessary for someone to pay others to teach when there are opportunities to learn by following the directions on a video. He explained how search engines aid in finding the needed information. Also there are multiple sites to gain more information to assist them in furthering their education as well as improving their personal lives, e.g., videos on health, education, financial literacy that can assist in making informed decisions. Using social media can help them know their rights.
The girls were taught how to use social media rather than let social media use them, i.e., to avoid wasting time or knowing how to differentiate between what is true and what is a rumour.
It was an enlightening day for all who participated and was a step forward in assisting the girls to plan for a brighter future.
