Reflections on the AYA Summit

This year, I have had the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC twice for social good events. Last month, I attended the first AYA Summit hosted by the ONE Campaign and Google.

The summit focused on issues facing women and girls in the developing world through a series of talks, panels and visuals. We learned what it means to be born female in Africa and what we, along with girls and women in Africa, can do to help people meet their full potential. The panels and talks focused on health, sex trafficking, trade, technology, fashion, jobs and activism to name a few. The three days I was there were jam-packed with information from passionate advocates for change. I was proud to be in the midst of greatness.

The ONE Campaign is an international, nonpartisan, non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to fighting against extreme poverty and preventable disease. The name ONE was inspired by the belief that one voice, coming together with many others can change the world for the better.

Our MC for the summit was Patricia Amira, also known as “Africa’s Oprah”. She had us completely mezmorized with her energy and fire.

Poet and Storyteller, Marquesha Babers performed her soul-stirring poem called, “Rising” inspired by Holly Gordon’s documentary film, Girl Rising. I thought I was at a poetry slam and found myself snapping my fingers as she spoke. She shared with us her story of being homeless for 5 years and how she never gave up hope for a better life. Then, she shocked us when she revealed that at 19, she was homeless once again. Now, you say something like this to a room full of parents and activists and you KNOW something had to be done. God was in the midst because we surrounded this child with our support and things were set in motion immediately to help her. By the end of the Summit, Holly took the stage and announced that the Marquesha Babers Storytellers Scholarship had been established and Marquesha would be the first recipient.

I had an internal fangirl moment when actor and playwright, Danai Gurira took the stage and performed three scenes from one of her plays. Talk about captivating a room, she did just that! Danai is well-known for her role as Michonne from the Walking Dead, and I admit I did not know she was a playwright until the summit. She was amazing. She is amazing and I eventually made a beeline to her and told her how much her words touched me. While I love her character on the Walking Dead, who she is off the stage impressed me more. She inspired me to use my words and influence to do good all the time.

I don’t know what it was about this trip, but when I landed in DC this time, it felt like I was in the right place at the right time with the right people. Maybe it was the chill in the air or being in the nation’s capital that had me bewitched. All I know is that when I left to head home, I knew I was better for being in the midst of some of my favorite people and I had made new friends who get me.

As I write this line, my heart is full. Anytime I think I cannot do something, I remember the story of Saa, one of the 300+ girls who was kidnapped by Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria. She told her story of escape and how she would rather have been dead so her parents would have a body to bury than to not know of her whereabouts at all. I am reminded of Clemantine Wamariya and her story of escaping a man who attempted to assault her at a Rawandan refugee camp.

What all of the speakers and attendees of the summit had in common was hope. We all have it, believe in it, we cling to it. Hope is what drives us. It was an honor attending the summit and fellowship with many kindred spirits. It is an experience I will not soon forget.