As part of Athletes for Hope’s gender equality initiative, legendary middle-distance runner and current Tanzania Olympic Committee Secretary General, Filbert Bayi, recently attended the Msichana Initiative‘s, “Girl Agenda Summit.” Over 1,000 girls from different regions in Tanzania attended the event in Dar Es Salaam, which focused on the role of society in protecting and advancing girls’ rights. During the event, Filbert joined a panel of prominent voices and discussed the role of parents in helping a child attain their dream. Filbert highlighted the importance of father figures and explained that, “fairness in a family has to be there, whether it is for the girl or boy child.” The panelists all agreed that when empowered, girls have the ability to change the world.

The forum was conducted not only to raise awareness within the community on the necessity of promoting and protecting girls’ rights, but also to advocate for increased support for amending the Law of Marriage Act in Tanzania and come up with clear solutions that will tackle the problems that young girls face within their communities. To that end, Filbert noted that, “as parents we should work together with society in making the dreams of our kids a reality.”

Athletes for Hope looks forward to continue working with Filbert Bayi and other prominent influencers, all of whom are willing to speak up and take a stand around an important cause.