Global Ambassador Trip with Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
Visiting Tanzania with Maitreyi
Plan International Canada staff joined Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, our Global Ambassador, on a trip to Geita, Tanzania to see how period products and bicycles are helping girls stay in school.
Plan International Canada communications teammates (From left) Angie Torres-Ramos and Kristi Iannuzzi joined Global Ambassador Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on a trip to Tanzania to visit the Keeping Adolescent Girls in School (KAGIS) project.
It’s one thing to write about the work we do at Plan International Canada to promote children’s rights and equality for girls. It’s a whole other inspiring perspective when you visit one of the projects and meet the participants and see the work in action. Plan staff Angie Torres-Ramos and Kristi Iannuzzi had that opportunity when they traveled to Tanzania with Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Plan International Global Ambassador and star of Never Have I Ever, in November. Maitreyi said it’s a trip she’ll never forget. Angie, who has been with Plan since 2012, and Kristi, who joined two years ago, feel the same way.
FAVOURITE MEMORY
Kristi:
“We were on our way to a school to make reusable pads with students in a menstrual health club. It was the first event to kick off what took four months of planning. I had anticipated this moment for so long and now it was happening. As we walked into the classroom, we could immediately feel the students’ energy. They sang a greeting to us, and it was so moving. I had to stealthily wipe away tears. We joined them in making some pads, so the girls don’t have to skip class when they get their periods. In Geita, 25% of girls don’t study beyond primary school, and a lack of period supplies is one of the reasons they stop going to class. While we made the pads, we also had a chance to chat with them about their life and their dreams. They also had tons of questions about my life in Canada and our weather!”
Angie:
“My favourite moment was when we were serenaded off the bus by a group of women who participate in one of Plan’s village savings and loan associations. It was our third day, and it was a super intimate and quiet experience. We joined them under this immense mango tree, and it was magical. They sang and danced and then showed us the handicrafts they were making. They also shared how being in the savings group helped them earn the money to send their daughters to school. There was just some serious good energy there, like female energy, wise-women energy. I loved it! We ate some mangos, which are Maitreyi’s favourite fruit, and the juice was dripping down to our elbows. It was perfect.”
What Kristi & Angie learned about Plan’s gender equality work
Kristi:
“When we toured the school where 500 girls received bicycles so they could ride to school safely, I came away with a new appreciation for how dedicated Plan International is to this school and these girls. There was the work we’re doing with the KAGIS project, and the teacher showed us the dormitory that Plan Germany built. It was moving to feel part of a global organization that’s dedicated to truly helping change girls’ lives. When we were driving to the school, I could see plenty of students walking in their school uniforms, but there were also plenty of kids who didn’t appear to have that opportunity or who you could see working in the fields. It was a poignant reminder that there’s still work to be done to ensure all children get that chance. Later when we left on the bus, the girls rode beside us waving. It was such a beautiful moment.”
Angie:
“I’m a feminist and I believe in our mission to advocate for children’s rights and equality for girls, but seeing the work in real life unlocked a whole other perspective. You see and feel the collective commitment from the participants, the Plan staff and the entire community. I especially felt this when we attended a KAGIS-supported soccer match where 2,000+ people attended! Everyone was there, from babies to teens to donkeys that kept running onto the field. They gave us these vests that had the KAGIS slogan Si sawa bila usawa, which means “not equal without equality.” When people came up to us, they chanted the slogan, and even the commentator for the match kept layering in messages about protecting children and supporting girls’ right to get an education. That collective energy was moving. I kept thinking, ‘Wow. When people come together, change is possible when they get behind one dream.’”
How did the trip change Kristi and Angie?
Kristi:
“After the trip, I had a renewed sense of purpose. Sometimes you have days in Toronto where you feel disconnected from the work, but I just think back on that week, and I’m reminded of students like Ezra who had to walk 11 kilometres on remote roads to get to school. Now, she hops on her bike and gets there safely and quickly. And we’re playing a part in helping to make that change in her life. That’s inspiring.”
Angie:
“Yes, I feel the same way. You can feel far away from the work and get bogged down by run-of-the-business details and you forget the real people, like Ezra, behind everything that we do. It was so cool to see how Plan is a part of her life and how something as simple as a bike has unlocked all kinds of opportunities for her.”
Help remove the barriers that keep girls from reaching their full potential. We won’t stop until we are all equal.
Want to be inspired by other youths? Read our story with youth and disability activist Pelemo Nyajo from Nigeria as she explains how she uses her powerful poetry to spark change.
Interested in other ways we help girls go to school? Meet 11-year-old Salma from Nigeria, who lost her hearing when she was child and didn’t attend school until a teacher encouraged her parents to send her to classes.
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