On February 28th, we had a zoom call with some girls in an Aarti home in India. We exchanged recipes with each other, they made dosa and we made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The point of this zoom meeting was to share different aspects about ourselves and our daily lives with each other.

Zoë Timms, the founder and executive director of the Women’s Education Project (WEP), set us up with the Aarti Home based in Pradesh, India. Previous to this zoom, we had an interview with Zoë and she told us that these girls may have come from hard situations and that is why they are in the Aarti home.

In the beginning of the call, they started off by preparing dosa, which is a thin pancake and they showed us how they made it and cooked it. Afterwards, we prepared a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to show them an American food. We talked about other foods and what our favorite foods were and we both learned new things about different foods.

Once we finished sharing our recipes, we focused our discussion on sharing about our personal hobbies, interests, and things about our daily lives. It was very fun and interesting to learn about their daily lives, what they like to do, and we talked about common interests. One of the things we talked about was dancing. They performed a very well-choreographed dance for us, and then they asked us to dance, so we did the Macarena and they sang along with us.

We continued talking about our interests such as our favorite movies, tv shows we liked, and what music we liked to listen to. They shared that they love the show Wednesday and liked to listen to BLACKPINK and other K-pop artists. We talked about different sports and hobbies we like such as tennis, basketball, singing, dancing, and playing piano. Since there is a big time difference between here and there, it was about 8pm there so they had to go home. We said our goodbyes and thanked them for talking with us so late. It was really fun to talk with them about things we liked and didn’t like, share recipes and talk about different foods, learn new things about their lives, and share aspects about our lives too.

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On January 15th, we had an interview with Zoë Timms who is the founder and executive director of Women’s Education Project (WEP). The Women’s Education Project helps girls of all ages in India and Nepal access an education. She shared important information with us about her work and how her and WEP is helping girls in India and Nepal attend school.
When Zoë got an opportunity from her professor to go to India, she wanted to go because it sounded interesting. Once she got there, she saw a polluted river and that many of the girls living nearby were not attending school. This is when she knew she wanted to make her life’s work, supporting people in these conditions as much as possible, like supporting girls in attending school.
Zoë was working at a local school in India and one of her students was staying behind when the other students were going to class. Zoë asked her if she was ready to go to karate class because everyone had to go, that is when the girl pointed down to her leg and Zoë saw she had polio. The next week, the girl completed karate class saying “I did it!” to Zoë. Zoë talked some more about how strong the girls that she works with are and that they teach her things as well.
Another topic in Zoë’s work that she shared with us is some of the barriers that come up when they are trying to support these girls in attending school. One of them is that sometimes the parents want their daughters to get married and start a family early on, rather than attending school. When WEP comes across barriers such as this, they respect family and cultural traditions, and try not to interfere with the families beliefs. Something else Zoë shared with us is how her and WEP go into these communities with a humble attitude. One of the ways Zoë said she does this is by wearing similar clothes the girls she is helping wear, and always being open to trying new things. Another way she does this is once she has gotten to know the girls, Zoë and the girls will teach each other things from their own cultures.
Zoë has also set up a call with us and some of the girls in their program. We are excited to talk with them and share and learn about different foods, cultures, and daily life.

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On January 19th, we interviewed Ashely Steimer-King who is the program director of Girls Learn International (GLI). We got to learn about their entire program, and more about what they do to help girls access education. Their organization is important because they make sure girls and their families have stability in their lives, so that the girls are able to attend school. GLI’s mission is to advocate for girls’ education across the U.S. and around the world and to empower and support new generations of people fighting for social change.

I learned so many new details about GLI’s work from Ashley and how they help girls access a safe education. One of things I learned is that if another priority comes up when they are working with families, such as access to food, water, and shelter, GLI will help them access these things before trying to encourage the girls to attend school. I also learned that sometimes a family’s culture or religion can get in the way of the family wanting their daughters to attend school. GLI offers a variety of subjects in their educational programs and some of them are teaching the girls about mental health and sex education, since they usually haven’t been taught about these things. Once they give these girls an education, it not only helps them learn new things and be educated but it also opens up new opportunities for them, and that is one of their goals. GLI is still helping many girls access a safe education, so the girls have more opportunities to choose from throughout their lives.

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On Wednesday, January 4th our group had an interview with Sarah Symons, the founder of Her Future Coalition (HFC). She is important to our topic because their organization helps girls around the world access a safe education. I learned that HFC is taking action to address this issue by giving girls around the world the opportunity for a safe, equal, education. This is extremely important because in many countries girls cannot access a safe education, let alone any education at all. HFC’s mission is to try and give as many girls the opportunity to experience a safe education in a safe environment.
I learned that some girls choose not to attend or are restricted by their parents because of religious, cultural or other beliefs that limit these girls/their families from wanting them to go to school. One of these restrictions is marriage, because in some cases the parents want their daughter to get married early on instead of going to school. I also learned that if there are other priorities that the family or the girls need before getting an education like shelter, food, and water, then HFC will help them access these things before trying to get the girls involved in their program. I learned that they need to go into these situations with a humble attitude because their intentions are to give the girls an opportunity to go to school. HFC has helped and is still helping so many girls be able to attend a safe school, and learn many different subjects so the girls can have new opportunities in their lives.

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