Partners with GLOW

Who are Partners with GLOW?

Partners with GLOW is a small, grassroots non-profit organization created solely for assisting GLOW Club members in Mushota, Zambia to pay school fees and continue their education.

100% of donated money goes directly to the group bank account of GLOW Club members. All marketing and website costs are paid for by private contributions from Partners with GLOW founders.

Partners with GLOW currently consist of two U.S. based operators, Adria Mooney and James DiPadua, who handle the GLOW Club's web and ecommerce presence on a volunteer basis. Additionally, Peace Corps Volunteer Alyssa Mooney acts as the liason between the U.S. and the Zambia based GLOW Club in Mushota. Upon completion of her Peace Corps service, Alyssa will transition all operations to Ba Priscilla Chomba, the GLOW Club mentor.

Ba Priscilla Chomba (GLOW Club mentor), Adria Mooney (Partners with GLOW founder), Alyssa Mooney (Peace Corps Volunteer and GLOW Club collaborator)

GLOW Mentor - Ba Priscilla Chomba

Ba Chomba was born in the capitol city of Lusaka, and was educated in the Zambian cities of Lusaka, Kabwe and Solwezi. After completing her schooling, she moved to Mushota, her father's home village, where he and her mother had come to retire. It is the custom for unmarried women to remain with their parents. Ba Chomba was married in Mushota in 2000 and has three young children. Ba Chomba is a farmer, sells dried fish at the market, and also owns a small shop which she manages with her husband.

GLOW Club mentor Ba Chomba makes place mats with the GLOW club

I want to ask the world to help me look after these girls. I want to make my girls happy. These girls are also people and need others to care about them.

Ba Chomba explains the problem:

In our past days, people in Zambia didn't know anything about HIV and AIDS, so most people in our country were dying because of a lack of knowledge. They didn't know what caused HIV, how to protect themselves, how to care for themselves, they didn't know about getting tested. In Mushota, there was a funeral every day. Every day. The reason was AIDS. Things are improving now because people are getting more knowledge about this disease. They now have access to free ARVs and testing services. But the result of the past is that we have so many orphans.

These orphans are suffering a lot because they do not have their own parents to look after them, and most of them are mistreated by their relatives. When the orphans stay with relatives, they share their food, so the relatives feel they are being burdened and that their own children will start losing out as a result. In that way, they develop resentment towards the orphan.

Some relatives give the orphans a lot of extra work so they don't have time for anything else. They don't want to pay for the girls to go to school. If the orphans become educated, they can stay well and look after themselves, but since she's not their own child, they do not care about giving her a chance at a good life.

Ba Chomba explains the solution:

I became a GLOW Mentor because I was really interested in the education of girls. If girls become educated, they can take care of themselves and their families. They can have good lives.

Orphans experience the most difficulty and mistreatment of any people in Zambia. There are a lot of prostitutes, a lot of street kids, because there are so many orphans. That's why I love being a GLOW Mentor and teaching this work. The girls are gaining something from this club that will prevent them from becoming a prostitutes or street kids.

As a Mentor, I get to teach the girls how to look after themselves so they don't get pregnant and have to quit school, and I teach them how to earn money on their own so they don't have to be dependent on others. I love teaching them how to sew. Now they're able to do it on their own. These girls are so hard-working and attentive to the club. They are well-behaved and understanding, they are intelligent and learn new things very quickly.

As a Mentor, I am able to teach them how to look after themselves as orphans. When I see the girls behaving in risky ways, I am able to talk to them and they really listen and I see them change their behavior.

These girls are being mistreated by their relatives, but if someone else can help them, if others show they care, they can see that even though their relatives are not looking after them, there are people in this world who really do care about them.

Peace Corps Volunteer Alyssa Mooney

Alyssa's Background

Alyssa Mooney graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She then served 2 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mushota, Zambia, where she worked to build the capacity of the GLOW Club. She trained the GLOW Mentor in group and project management, and taught the group basic business and financial management skills, while working with them to develop their income-generating activities. She has been working closely with the GLOW Club since April, 2007.

Alyssa on GLOW

I think this club gives these girls a lot of hope. They're fighting against all odds and they're succeeding. They're earning money that allows them to put themselves through school, which I think gives them a sense of independence and accomplishment. They've also formed a really cohesive group that is providing a much-needed social support system. Most of the girls have had very similar life experiences, so I think it helps them to be able to get together and spend time among others who can really understand what they are going through.

Also, the GLOW meetings have become sort of a safe haven for the girls, giving them a chance to escape whatever is going on in their lives, relax, laugh and talk with each other, and express their creativity through arts and crafts. They don't have art class in school here like we do in the U.S., so the girls are really enjoying coming to meetings and learning these craft projects. At GLOW, they're participating in fun activities that they never had the chance to do before.

Ba Chomba, the Mentor, has become a mother-figure for these girls. She's someone who obviously cares about each girl, and is working so hard to help them in any way she can. The girls see this and it has allowed her to develop very trusting, caring relationships with all of the girls. The girls have really opened up to her and always go to her for advice when they're having problems at home. She is able to provide a lot of life guidance to the members, which is so important because many of them lack someone in their lives to fill this role."

Find out more about the GLOW Club

GLOW Club Zambia

Girls Leading Our World

Lifting up AIDS orphaned youth through education and empowerment