In honor of the launch of the new ALEX AND ANI Kindred Cord Daisy supporting the Peace Corps Let Girls Learn Fund, we are excited to welcome returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Jennifer Jiggetts, as a guest blogger. In the story below, Jennifer discusses the importance of Peace Corps’ community-led initiatives in creating lasting change for adolescent girls’ education and empowerment. She also explains how her idea of a small jewelry business has had lasting impacts on a community in Lesotho, southern Africa.
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When I began teaching in Lesotho, I noticed that many of my students, especially girls, would disappear throughout the day. My fellow teachers noted that students had to trek half a mile up the mountain next our school to access potable drinking water. Fetching water is considered women’s work in Lesotho, so instead of studying, the girls in my class spent hours carting water. I quickly realized that if there was a water pump near the school, the girls could easily fill their water bottles and be able to dedicate more time to their studies.
With this incentive, and my background in crafting, my students, fellow teachers and I created a jewelry-making business to raise money for a water pump. Every Tuesday and Thursday after school, my colleagues and I offered craft classes on jewelry-making and crocheting. Later on, we added classes on economic development and financial management to help strengthen the business management aspect of this income-generating activity.
Within a few months, we opened a bank account, created a Facebook page, and wrote a business plan. We placed our marketing materials all over the capital. We partnered with area businesses to increase sales, and used local and available materials to save money. Our team fashioned beads from clay, then made bracelets, necklaces, earrings and bookmarks, as well as jewelry from other locally available resources like safety pins and seshoeshoe – Lesotho’s national fabric. As demand grew, we realized we needed more materials. With contributions from the community and support from the Peace Corps Partnership Program, we were able to purchase additional materials.
With renewed energy and resources, the team and I used social media to promote and sell the jewelry and within months, we met our objective of constructing a water pump to help girls stay in school. The girls also learned skills, like how to write a business plan, open a bank account, balance a budget, and market and sell products. They learned to set goals, apply for grants, and design and manage a project. More than that, they learned to use the talents and tools they already had to develop new skills, building their self-confidence to be catalysts of change in their own community.
“This project has helped us to use our skills and talents, such as crocheting and knitting. We’ve also strengthened our business skills by learning about money management, financial literacy, and investing. We can use our experience to help with other potential needs for our learners. We’ll always be grateful for that,” said principal M’e Makatleho Mahamo. “My female students have been shown a real life skill. They know that when they need money, all they have to do is make and sell a piece of jewelry. And no one can take that skill and knowledge away from them.”
Now that the school has a water pump, faculty would like to raise money to build a better, safer classroom environment. With access to funding specifically dedicated to girls’ education and empowerment projects through the Peace Corps’ Let Girls Learn Fund, Volunteers like me will be able to make a sustainable difference in the lives of adolescent girls around the world.
Let’s make education accessible and safe for adolescent girls all around the world! #LetGirlsLearn
Images courtesy of Peace Corps.