#IAM BRAVE: The Girls Shelter in Guinea

The Girls Shelter in Guinea is for young girls who have said “No” to Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage and are homeless as a result.

Imagine for one minute, the courage it takes for a pre-teen or teenage girl to say "No" to their mother and father, siblings, grandparents, and elders in the community and face immediate repercussions.

We are so moved by the bravery of these young girls! And now we must be as brave as they are and step into developing and supporting the Girls Shelter.

The Girls Shelter will not only be a safe place for them to be, but also a place where they will receive care, education, and job training. A place where they can connect with other girls and become a part of a community.

They will be welcomed, and given the compassion, support, and resources they need and deserve to create positive futures for themselves.

We Hope to Open the Shelter on September 1^st – it’s a short timeline and

We Need Your Help!

Lara is one of the girls that is waiting for the Girls Shelter to open. In this brief video, Lara tells her story and also expresses appreciation for the Executive Director of WAR AGAINST POVERTY, Sylvanus Bangura, our partner in Kindia Guinea.

Pathways To Peace has been partnering with THE WAR AGAINST POVERTY PROGRAM in the Republic of Guinea to bring, at their request, Peace education and training to their leaders and educators in the school within the orphanage: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071300815297

The leaders of this program are wise, dedicated, and deeply compassionate with the children they serve. They are also brave. 

Our partners are engaged in community education and have risked going against long-held cultural norms and practices to say, “Our girls and women are valued, and we need to say ‘no’ to all violence!” And they have defined gender-based violence to include the cultural practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Child Marriage. They have been bringing this message out into their community.

As a result of their education, two young girls were brave enough to say no to FGM, were forced to leave their homes, and came to our partners for help. Our partners have long envisioned a Girls Shelter, as they know that with community education, and the first girls now coming forward, that more girls will be brave enough to say no and will need a place to go.

We could not turn a blind eye. And now we are asking for your help!

We only need $20,000 to house and care for five brave young girls for one year. Thank you to several generous donors, we are almost one-third of the way to securing our shelter goal.

Do you Feel Called? Please Join us by Donating Today!

Pathways To Peace is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and your donation qualifies for a US tax deduction.

The girls and our partners in Guinea are deeply grateful, and so are we.

Thank you for supporting the Avon Mattison Memorial Girls Shelter in Guinea!

For more information and to track the progress of reaching the Shelter Funding Goal: https://pathwaystopeace.org/programs/the-girls-shelter-in-guinea/

If you have questions or wish to share your time and talent in the co-creation of this important program, please do not hesitate to contact:

Tezikiah Gabriel

[email protected]

651-357-4436

www.pathwaystopeace.org

Together, We Can Give these Girls the Future they Deserve, and

End this Brutal Practice in Kindia

in One Generation! 

About Pathways To Peace

Incorporated in 1983, Pathways to Peace (PTP) is an international organization dedicated to making Peace a lived reality in our world today. PTP is an UN-designated Peace Messenger Organization that holds consultative status with the UN Department of Global Communications (DGC) and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). For over 40 years, PTP has been engaged in innovation, collaboration, and movement-building. Our Vision is for a World at Peace, and our work is about building a Culture of Peace.

Pathways To Peace provides education, consultation, and mentorship. Working in partnership over the years, PTP has inaugurated several UN-recognized global Peace initiatives, including UN International Day of Peace, the UN Culture of Peace Resolution and Programme of Action, and the PeaceWave.

Pathways To Peace works in partnership with Peacebuilders locally and globally, multi-generationally and cross-culturally on programs that build Peace and eliminate barriers to Peace, including nuclear disarmament, climate change, racial equity, and gender equality. works to raise awareness and advocate for nuclear disarmament and the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) globally and within Albania.

We invite you to join us in our Peacebuilding efforts! For more information about

Pathways to Peace, please visit our website: pathwaystopeace.org

Thank You for Contributing to Pathways To Peace!



We can’t do our work without you.

This newsletter comes to you from Pathways To Peace (PTP), steward of the Culture of Peace Initiative (CPI) newsletter. PTP is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, whose work would not be possible without our volunteers and your support. If you would like to support Pathways To Peace programs and activities around the globe, you can do so by clicking the Donation Button above. A heartfelt thank you from the Pathways To Peace Team! 

For more information or to make a donation by check, Venmo, or Paypal, please contact:

Tezikiah Gabriel, Executive Director

[email protected]

651-357-4436

Pathways To Peace Business Office

122 Demont Avenue E, #173

St. Paul, MN 55117