“The Change is Immense.” One Mentor’s Reflection on 9 Years of GLOW Club.

Global Girls Glow has been mentoring girls to become powerful advocates and confident leaders through our signature program, GLOW Club, for nearly a decade. In 2024, our movement reaches 16,000 girls across 30 countries, but it all started with the unwavering passion of a handful of local mentors committed to making a difference in girls’ lives. In Kenya, Mwanarusi Saidi has the incredible distinction of being one of them. 

Mwanarusi has been a transformative force in her community since she began implementing GLOW Clubs in 2016. Over the past nine years, she has counseled girls through some of the most difficult experiences of their lives, all while creating a safe space — a true place of joy — for them to make friends, learn to express themselves, and realize that they have the power to determine their own futures. 

We caught up with Mwanarusi to ask about her mentorship journey and the impact GLOW Club has had on GLOW Club members, and their community, over the past nine years. Here’s her inspiring answer. 

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. 

“I Became a Role Model”

I’ve been a GLOW Club mentor since 2016. When the program first started, I really felt motivated to start mentoring girls based on my background. I am from a family of 10 siblings, including six boys, and I’m the last born: Number 10. 

My father had decided that he was not going to take me to school. So when the time came for me to be taken to primary school along with my older brother, I pleaded and pleaded with him. Finally, my father let me go to school, but I was already hurt. Inside me, I had that urge to prove him wrong. 

Mwanarusi Saidi, left, has been a GLOW Club mentor for nearly a decade. She inspired her daughter Aisha to become a mentor as well.

And I did prove him wrong. My brother and I were in the same class in primary school, and I outperformed him on every single test. Out of my family of 10, I am the only one who made it to University. 

Immediately when I joined the University, I became a role model to my brothers and my sisters’ kids. Every single one of them followed in my path and made it to University. 

I’m happy that I was able to change the mentality and lives of my close relatives. As I sit here today, I’m the mother of three girls, and I’m proud that all of my girls are pursuing higher education at the University level. 

“All Is Not Lost”

In GLOW Club, we’re mentoring girls from disadvantaged families, and I easily relate to these girls considering my background. Most of the club members are from families that are not well-off financially. They’re from families where boys are more important to the community than girls. Generally, the way girls are treated and the mentality of the community is that once they complete primary school, the most important thing for them is to get married.

GLOW Clubs launched in Kenya in 2016. Since then, communities have begun to recognize that girls have a voice.

I always share my background with the girls. I tell them that in my family of 10, my parents were illiterate and didn’t have formal employment, so my growing up was not easy. We had to do hard chores to make a living. These are things the girls are able to relate with. 

“Generally, the way girls are treated and the mentality of the community is that once they complete primary school, the most important thing for them is to get married.”

I tell them that I have risen in my profession, that I’m an associate professor and I’m also the Registrar of Academic Affairs at my University. On the board, I always have a sentence there: It says, “Don’t give up. I won’t give up.” So because of that, the girls relate. I interact with them freely, and they get to see that nothing in this world is actually impossible. 

I want the girls to believe that all is not lost: They can do whatever they want to achieve and be what they want to be. 

“Now, Girls Have a Voice”

The change that GLOW Club is making in our community is immense. It has really empowered these girls. 

In African culture, most kids are supposed to be submissive. I try to liberate them from that mentality so they can think independently and believe that they have the right to express themselves. They have the right to be firm and explain exactly what they want to achieve. 

Mwanarui’s daughter Aisha leads a GLOW Club lesson.

I encourage the club members to work hard and never give up. I’ve always emphasized for girls to believe in themselves so they can be whatever they want to be. Because of that, I’ve seen girls completely transform. Some of the girls emerge from lower levels in class to very high levels. In the last year of exams, our club produced the best student in our county, even beating the boys. 

“Parents and teachers are beginning to realize that there’s something in these girls that we need to listen to.”

Now, the girls have a voice. They’re able to express themselves. When they feel that something is not right, they don’t keep it to themselves.They’re able to speak to their parents, and change actually begins within the family. As girls make their own decisions, they’re also able to influence their parent’s attitudes towards their siblings. 

Many parents have come to me because they’ve seen the changes in club members and want to also be a part of that change. Parents and teachers are beginning to realize that there’s something in these girls that we need to listen to. Girls are able to address real challenges in their communities.

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 Rift Valley Reading Association, who coordinate GLOW Clubs for girls throughout Kenya. We’d like to extend a special thanks to Mwanarusi for her years of service to improving girls’ lives and futures. Support incredible mentors like Mwanarusi by investing in the transformative power of mentorship at globalgirlsglow.org/donate.