The launch of the Girls United by ESSENCE platform has created a unique space where young Black women who are interested in fostering a digital community of leaders can go to connect and engage.
During the ESSENCE Full Circle Festival in Accra, Ghana, Girls United co-founder Sophia Dennis participated in a Day of Service to the local Accra community. In support of the partnership between ESSENCE and designer Chiedza Makonnen’s Circle of Sisters initiative, Sophia took the GU mission global. The experience provided an opportunity for GU to engage with a group of young girls who were eager to share their experiences and learn tools to help them become leaders in their own worlds and realize their dreams, while also shedding some light on what learning institutions on the continent are really like.
“A lot of times, when people have this misconception of what an African school is like, they’ll say, “Oh, there’s no books, there’s no this, there’s no whatever,” Sophia said. “While that’s some schools [here just like] literally anywhere in the world, there are a lot of schools here that have the tools, have the resources and have what is needed to produce students that are up to par with the western world.”
Watch the video above to see the Girls United team in action in Accra and be sure to head back to ESSENCE.com for more of everything you missed at the first-ever ESSENCE Full Circle Festival.