A Brighter Future for Kenyan Girls: A Q&A with GLOW Club Alumna Sylvian

In 2018, GLOW Club Member Sylvian had a dream: To create a brighter future for girls in Kenya. In her home community, female genital mutilation, early marriage, and poverty often keep girls from pursuing their dreams. Less than 20% of Kenyan women over the age of 25 have completed a secondary school education, and more than 20% of girls are married before their 18th birthday. 

At age 17, Sylvian traveled to the United States for the Global G.L.O.W. Summit in New York City, where she collaborated with other girl advocates from around the world to learn how she could make her dream a reality. The experience ignited in her an even stronger passion for advocating for girls. 

“Being a girl, and facing some of the challenges that girls face, I’m really hoping and yearning in my heart that in the future, when I’ll be successful, I must do something that changes the lives of girls in our community,” Sylvian said at the Summit. “I must be a strong campaigner for girls.”

Today, Sylvian is pursuing a degree in Electronics Engineering — a field in which women are sorely underrepresented — and is a peer mentor for other young women at her University. 

We recently caught up with Sylvian to learn more about how her GLOW Club experience inspired her to be a female trailblazer and role model for women across Kenya. 

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. 

Tell us more about your life today. 

Now, I am a third year University student in Kenya studying Electronics Engineering. Studying engineering as a lady has been so powerful in my life because now, when I get in touch with other ladies, they have got the notion and the mindset that it’s not only men that can take technical courses, but also ladies!

Sylvian, far left, at the Global G.L.O.W. Summit in New York City in 2018.

I’m also one of the peer counselors at my University, and I really love it. Being a counselor, there is a point where someone tells you her own story and it’s something that touches your heart. You have to be there for this person. You have to be there to hear what the person has to say, and you have to give a solution to whatever problem they have. 

It has really been so impactful. I’m looking forward to mentoring so many women, because changing lives is what we need for the world to be a better place.

What was your GLOW Club experience like, and how did it inspire your career and mentorship?

GLOW Club was so impactful in my life. I was a member for three years, and my mentor was named Madam Joyce. 

What I really loved so much about the club was developing creative thinking skills. It was something that impacted me at that time and also in my life to come. I really loved it so much. We would come up with ideas to change our lives at that moment when we were in high school, and also ideas on how to overcome challenges that were yet to come in the future.

The part I loved most was when I got the chance to travel to New York for the Global G.L.O.W. Summit in 2018. It really impacted me so much to learn that girls can lead. They have got the potential. They have got the ability. They have got the strength. They can do it! It’s a matter of believing in themselves and having a positive mindset. They can be the future leaders of our world. 

I will always be proud to be an alumnus of GLOW Club. It really impacted my life.

Sylvian in 2018 (left) and 2023

What are some of the specific challenges girls face in your community, and how will you play a role in solving them? 

In my community, there are a lot of challenges for girls and women. Being an African, there is this notion that you can’t be assertive. There are some things that you want to speak out, but you don’t have the voice because people believe it’s rude to speak your mind.

That has really really put girls down. Even the challenges girls are facing at home or in school they won’t speak out. That is really killing our girls. Some girls even lose their lives because nobody is there to listen to what they have in their mind.

“It really impacted me so much to learn that girls can lead. They have got the potential. They have got the ability. They have got the strength. They can do it! It’s a matter of believing in themselves and having a positive mindset. They can be the future leaders of our world.” 

But GLOW Club came into our lives. I’m so glad to be an alumni who has been mentored, because I have been inspired. I now know that I need to speak out. I can be assertive, but not rude. I can be aware of myself and the goals that I have. I can have the self-esteem to speak my mind.

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What are your dreams for your future?

Before GLOW Club came into my life, I was that shy girl. I wouldn’t speak out about anything, even if I was wronged. I wouldn’t say anything, even when something was troubling me. I didn’t have courage. I wasn’t brave enough to face the challenges that the world brought into my life. 

It was really traumatic because not being able to speak – these are the things that can lead to depression. There is no one who is there to listen to what you’re saying, to your views, to whatever is troubling your mind. 

Now, I can speak out. As a peer counselor, and as a woman in STEM, I am a strong lady who is looking forward to being a great leader: to setting an example for other girls.

Global G.L.O.W. mentors girls around the world to become powerful advocates and confident leaders. Since inception, our GLOW Clubs have ignited the power of over 91,000 girls to do 3 transformative things: increase their confidence, strengthen their voice, and build their power. 

This transformation story has been made possible through our collaboration with NEWI, who coordinate GLOW Clubs for girls throughout Kenya. Support girl advocates like Sylvian by making an investment in a girl-led future at globalgirlsglow.org/donate.