Avery is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in statistics and economics. She is passionate about women’s and animals’ rights, international education, and environmental sustainability, and hopes to utilize her research skills to analyze data and diction to create change and conversations in these areas. She is eager to further her understanding of the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) and excited to utilize her experience in fundraising to help advance Sahiyo’s mission of ending FGC.
What was your experience of learning about female genital cutting (FGC) for the first time?
In school I know I must have heard about FGC briefly, but I didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until last year, when I studied abroad for a semester in Egypt, that I fully understood what FGC was. While abroad, I became close friends with a girl just a few years younger than me who was also going to the same university. During one of our many friendly, deep conversations, she shared her experience of undergoing FGC with me. This was shocking, as I hadn’t even thought about a classmate or friend having to endure this human rights violation, since I erroneously thought it was no longer practiced. After looking up more information about FGC, I realized it was much more prevalent than I thought. This led me to look up more resources about FGC and to see if there were ways I could get involved with helping to spread awareness, eventually bringing me to Sahiyo.
When and how did you first get involved with Sahiyo?
I started getting involved with Sahiyo in February of this year. I learned about Sahiyo from the website and saw examples of the great work that the Sahiyo team and our network has been doing in the movement to end FGC. Throughout college and high school, I had been eager to volunteer whenever I got the chance. In the past, I had volunteered at college and local non-profit organizations that were focused on a myriad of issues such as health, the environment, community, and homelessness, and with my skills and background, I thought I could be helpful to the team at Sahiyo. After learning about the powerful work Sahiyo does, I was excited to get started!
What does your work with Sahiyo involve?
I am a Development Intern at Sahiyo, so my position is to provide assistance to the Development Team and Coordinator regarding Sahiyo’s organizational development and fundraising initiatives. This includes working on grant applications to ensure Sahiyo has funding to carry out our important programs, creating monthly donation appeals (you’ve probably seen a few emails from me already!), and searching for potential funding opportunities. It has been very rewarding to learn more about Sahiyo’s programs, the individual people and activists within Sahiyo’s community and their powerful stories, and the generous funders/foundations who have been supporting Sahiyo.
How has your involvement with Sahiyo impacted your life?
My involvement with Sahiyo has widened my perspective on gender-based violence and FGC, and working alongside these amazing people within Sahiyo’s network has inspired me. I am in awe of the resilient survivors and empowering female activists who have worked tirelessly to end this injustice through the innovative ways of storytelling and dialogue. I am thankful for the opportunity to become more educated in gender-based violence and FGC. I am excited to have learned how to be an effective ally, and I know my time helping Sahiyo is just the start of my volunteerism in this field.
What words of wisdom would you like to share with others who may be interested in supporting Sahiyo and the movement against FGC?
I would like to share with others that anyone and everyone has the ability to help us in the movement to end FGC. I am not from an FGC-practicing community, nor am I a survivor, but there are many ways to support Sahiyo and create a critical mass of people and voices calling for the elimination of FGC. After reading posts from the #EachOneReachBhaiyo campaign, I realized it really can take a conversation to raise awareness about FGC, and if we can all do this collectively, our actions can put an end to FGC. Sahiyo has several informative resources on the website for anyone who is interested in supporting our organization and the movement against FGC, and I would highly encourage everyone to check them out!