I Am a Girl Barbados

Alian began I Am a Girl Barbados as an event, as a result of her mentorship programme for girls with poor self-esteem. She identified that girls lacked self-esteem as well as the high rates of depression, stress, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. From this, I Am A Girl developed into a leadership academy for young, vulnerable, female Barbadians.

The organisation holds a variety of opportunities and development programmes for the network of young women, as a solution to gender inequality and to empower young women in Barbados. One example is Generation Y, a year long programme where girls connect and support each other during capacity building sessions. Another is the Girls Club, which offers biweekly educational workshops. A final example is the Summer Programme which combines and expands on the previous two programmes.

Girls who participate fully in the I Am A Girl programme are identified from a mixture of counsellors, schools, and social care institutions. As of 2019, there are 175 I Am A Girl members and over 1,500 people have participated in at least one element of the organisation’s programming.

Of the 175 members, there have been a diverse range of outcomes: 15 have received internship placements, 5 have attended university, and 15 an alternative form of further education. They have also produced 25 peer leaders, 20 junior counsellors, two have joined the organisation as staff and one has joined the US Army.

Moving forward, Alian aims to build a transitional home to support girls leaving social care institutions including a 6-18 month developmental programme. I Am A Girl has also established a regional partnership supporting girls in Dominica and St Lucia, called “50 More”. This is part of a wider move towards regional collaboration in the Caribbean.