International Day of the Girl

Storytelling festival celebrates the achievements of girls

The inaugural Day of the Girl Child in Prince Edward County was celebrated last Friday at The Andrew in Picton with a storytelling festival organized by Reaching for Rainbows. The International Day of the Girl Child is recognized on October 11, and began in 2012 with an international observance by the United Nations to support more opportunity for girls and raise awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide, and what the likely outcomes would be if those problems were addressed. Each year’s Day of the Girl Child has a theme, and this year’s theme is “The girl I am, the change I lead.”

Last Friday, Reverend Lynne Donovan welcomed attendees to The Andrew to open the day of activities. Rev. Donovan and the Circle of Friends at what was then known as St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church created the Reaching for Rainbows program in 2012 as a means of improving the outcomes of young girls in Prince Edward County by fostering healthy relationships and thoughtful life choices. The program is now independently operated and is licensed by the provincial Ministry of Education. The program location remains the basement playroom at The Andrew, which was re-branded in 2024 to serve the needs of the wider community. Mayor Steve Ferguson read a proclamation from the County that officially recognized October 11 as the first Annual Day of the Girl Child in the County.

Reaching for Rainbows executive director Beth Lafay then outlined the day’s planned activities and introduced the festival speakers. The first speaker was Jessica Thibault, a Cayuga woman who told her story of embracing her Indigenous heritage. She grew up not knowing very much about her culture, and it was only after she began working at an Indigenous agency that she started to learn about her heritage. She has always enjoyed singing, but she felt a powerful call to play the drum. She eventually made her own drum, but was told by her teacher that it was hers only to keep for a short while and that she must give it away. So she gave the drum to a co-worker who was leaving. “My drum will come to me when it needs to come to me,” she remembers saying to herself. And eventually, a drum did come to her, and she uses her singing and drumming as a way to honour her Indigenous heritage. “There is a power in stories to teach, heal and bring people together,” she said.

The next speaker was MJ Patel, a Grade 12 student at PECI. She is the co-chair of the athletic council, a member of the student voice committee, an ambassador for young girls in the County, and she hosts art classes for children ages three to 10. She is also a volunteer at Reaching for Rainbows and plays soccer and still finds enough time to study and improve her grades as she looks towards university enrolment next year. She started off by asking the young girls in the audience what they see when they look at themselves in the mirror. “We end up seeing the girl that we are today, or yesterday, or seeing the girl that we want to be in the future. I look in the mirror and choose to see the strength in myself. It’s important to remind yourself how powerful you are. And that’s just the beginning of being an empowered girl,” she said. She encouraged the young girls listening to be kind to themselves and to choose to be the best version of themselves. She finished by having everyone join in the chorus of Cover Me In Sunshine, which she sang and played guitar.

Emerald Laforet (Kayenté:ri) then spoke about homesteading at her property in Tyendinaga. She said it started from their practise of tapping maple trees for sap and then boiling it down for maple syrup. She and her family then started a vegetable garden and eventually got chickens for eggs and meat to supplement the game obtained by her husband when he went hunting. She’s since added livestock and started saving seeds to complete the food circle. The final speaker was Ramona Roblin, who said she was pleased to celebrate the 13th birthday on the following day, the same day as the International Day of the Girl. She is a young activist who helped to organize the PEC Period Party with Alison Kelly. Their advocacy led to a policy change in the County, with menstrual products now being available in public toilets. She said that it was a great opportunity for her to be one of the speakers at the festival. “Be yourself and be a leader,” she said to the young girls in the audience. “You have so much potential do great things in the future.”

There was a question and answer session following the presentations. The speakers were asked who were the inspiration in their lives and what message they would like to leave with the girls. Emerald Laforet encouraged the girls to go outside their confidence zone and have confidence in what they do. Ramona Roblin reminded the girls that they have their own worth. “Know who you are. Remember that you have a choice to make a difference in the world and that choice is up to you,” she said.

Following the Q & A session, there was a lunch provided by Creekside Café and cupcakes from halfkanga. There was also face-painting during the lunch break as well as a small petting zoo from Heal With Horses. There were several workshops scheduled in the afternoon. The Lotus Hero Project had an art therapy session; there was a stress-ball making workshop from the ROC; Alternatives for Women led a workshop on healthy relationships; and there was a workshop to create mandalas. County Kids Read was also on hand, giving free books to children. Ms. Lafay intends to make this festival an annual event. For more information about Reaching for Rainbows, please visit reachingforrainbows.com.