How Lydia is elevating girls' and women’s financial literacy

Life's purposes are sometimes crafted out of the empathy that develops after witnessing people’s struggles, followed by a desire to end their suffering.

An evident example is Lydia Charles, the founder of Her Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, that focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty through a number of programmes that fuel women’s financial literacy.

As a student at King’ongo Secondary School in Ubungo Dar es Salaam in 2007, Lydia Charles took notice of the challenges the majority of girls in her class were facing that forced some to drop out of school.

Some of these girls aged between 14 and 16, were trapped in early marriages or teen pregnancies. Others got infected with HIV. Some came from poor families that could not cater to their financial needs.

"Out of 200 students, only nine of us (girls) went to high school, despite the fact that many passed the national exams. While at Tambaza High School, I could not help but sympathise with those who could not proceed with advanced secondary education for various reasons.

Together with some friends that she met at Tambaza, Lydia formed a movement called the Teen Girls Support Initiative. Through this movement, they visited various primary schools in Dar es Salaam and organised monthly events where they invited celebrities to speak to the pupils.

"We invited influential women who were role models to many girls. They include Jokate Mwegelo, the District Commissioner of Korogwe, Nancy Sumari, and Vanessa Mdee. These would share their stories of how they made it to the top and motivate girls to start setting their life and career visions," she recalls.

To make the movement meaningful and productive, Lydia and colleagues approached the Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA) to learn about girls’ rights in Tanzania.

"We wanted to understand the arena we were standing in and share the knowledge with the campaign participants in those schools. During the monthly meetings, we came across gender-based violence and rape cases, which we referred to TAWLA for further assistance." Lydia further explains; "We did not have any money, and we only approached schools that had free venues. Both TAWLA and all the influencers and experts that we worked with participated in the campaign out of goodwill."

When Lydia was pursuing a public relations and advertising course at the University of Dar es Salaam, she experienced extreme financial hardships. Lydia found out that some students chose to be in unhealthy relationships to get relief from their financial burdens.

"I thought of an alternative to such difficult situations, and that is when I came up with Panda events. These were events where I invited well-established entrepreneurs who shared their journeys and knowledge. This inspired many girls and women to start getting involved in business. About 300 to 500 students participated in the events, where those who engaged in business participated in exhibitions outside the hall."

Panda events led to the birth of ‘Her Initiative’ after Lydia and four other students decided to officially register the organisation.

"After we graduated in 2016, everything fell apart. Some of my colleagues got employed, and all I was left with was the organisation. A few months later, I got a job offer at Fema Hip as a radio and TV presenter. I paused my work at Her Initiative for almost three years. In June 2019, I quit my job and resumed my work at Her Initiative," she narrates.

She began to occasionally get seed funding, which enabled her to employ five people to keep the work afloat. Together, they developed a year-long programme on entrepreneurship that was conducted physically. Things were going well until the Corona pandemic hit.

"In April 2021, we launched Panda Digital, a platform that teaches women about entrepreneurship. On this platform, we uploaded two courses, digital marketing and business model canvas, which were in the form of videos alongside quizzes that measure a student’s understanding," she explains.

The organisation’s financial status unstabilised in early 2021, and in June of the same year, Lydia had to let go of all of her employees, with the exception of the ones that chose to stay.

"I was angry because, while it was certain that I was doing the right thing for women and young girls, no one came forward to support me financially, despite the fact that I was well connected. I decided to channel my anger in an open letter to development partners that I shared on the Medium website."

Titled ‘Open Letter to Development Partners: Put Your Money Where Your Words Are, Lydia expressed her disappointment and gave suggestions on how development partners could improve how they work with youth-led organisations.

"I explained how they invited and hosted young leaders to different brainstorming events, trained, mentored, and encouraged them to keep going. However, when it came to financially supporting them, they would tell them that they lacked systems. How do I put systems in place when I cannot afford to do so?" she rhetorically asks.

Irene Kiwia was among people who reached out and the two formed ‘Stawi," which translates to prosper. They trained young leaders for three months, and Stawi was officially launched in late 2021.

"After this, things really turned out great for me and my organisation. I was able to hire five people full-time. We also developed two more programmes, Fikia Plus and Digimali, which are both centred on economic empowerment.

Through Fikia Plus, Lydia and her team equip girls and women living with HIV/Aids in different regions with financial and business mamagement skills. The aim is to enable them to afford meals and earn a living at the same time.

Digimali, formed out of the words digital and mjasiriamali, (Swahili for entrepreneur), was launched last year with the purpose of digitising youth-led businesses. They coach and follow up on the growth of businesses that are developed by young people.

"Panda Digital is currentry accessible to all kinds of phone users. In September last year, we launched an artificial intelligence-powered messaging platform that enables users to send messages to a number that automatically responds to their knowledge needs.

"We have so far reached over 12,000 girls and women. I do not see myself doing anything other than what I am currently doing because it makes me happy that I am touching other people’s lives through my work," says Lydia.