BY RAYE MOCIOIU
Co-founders India Baird, Kelly Petersen, Audrey February, and Lee-anne Jenkins
BRAVE traveled to Kenya in May 2019 to train girls aa conservationists and filmmakers
BRAVE
EMPOWER A GIRL,
Strengthen the World
In South Africa, girls and women are facing a local threat. With one of the highest incidences of rape and sexual violence on the continent, many girls, women, and boys feel unsafe walking to and from school or work. BRAVE, a girl-led South African nonprofit, plans to change this reality. BRAVE works to create opportunities for girls, empowering them to share their stories with others and build networks of safety and support. They search for the resources, knowledge, experience, and safety that girls need to feel safe, strong, and lead with confidence.
“When you strike a woman, you strike a rock.”
homage to the quote, and as a way to solidify their stance as brave women, capable of making a difference.
This was the anti-apartheid slogan that inspired a group of ten-year-old girls from Manenberg, South Africa, to start a program that would make their gang-ridden community safer. With the help of human rights lawyer and children’s and women’s rights expert India Baird, the girls created an after-school workshop, where they could learn about their rights and how to stay safe. They called themselves Rock Girls as an
And make a difference, they did. The group of young girls (and boys) banded together to create safe spaces in their communities. With the help of their teachers, parents, and caregivers, they built 58 Safe Space public benches around the city of Cape Town, even building a new school and inspiring a city-wide campaign. Their after-school program continued to run for two more years before expanding
24
to other schools in the community. Over the next five years, they were able to reach over 500 girls through their workshops, weekend programs, and holiday camps. They took their first road trip in 2015, where they rescued 18 girls from gang wars. That year, BRAVE also partnered with the Open Society Foundation and the Children’s Radio Foundation to create radio programs that advocate for safer communities - not just for girls, but for everyone.
