The Akilah Institute for Women

Little known fact that I must admit: during several tough periods of my life, Christina Aguilera has gotten me through. There have been days when I put the CD player in my car on repeat and listened to her song “Soar” a thousand times. The lyrics, “Don’t be scared to fly alone/ find a path that is your own/love will open every door/spread your wings and soar” seemed to soothe and provide motivation and optimism. Other days “Beautiful” blared from my radio: “I am beautiful/no matter what they say/words can’t bring me down.” I listened to the songs so many times that even with the radio off, I could hear the echo of her words.

And the echoing didn’t stop once I arrived in Rwanda. This semester, when designing class exercises, I tried to provide knowledge that I thought our students needed, information to help them succeed. Before class, I always asked myself, “how is this going to help?” I gave them stats about tourism, definitions for hospitality, and we role-played customer service scenarios. However, something was missing. I sat and thought about our students: too shy to go to the fancy hotel, no smiling or eye contact when shaking hands, tears when talking about their pasts. What they really needed was a little Christina Aguilera. Without adding self-confidence and positive images of themselves, technical skills and knowledge wouldn’t get them very far.

So, I wrote out the lyrics (with some words missing so they could practice listening skills), brought the CD player to class, and proceeded to build a new fan base for Christina. We listened to the songs twice, then tried to sing along the third time. Not surprisingly, none of us could match her; so we mostly ended up laughing. However, even though none of us can really sing like Christina, we can still embody her words and attitude in our lives, which I hope our Akilah students do. And I’m confident they will since when they wrote their own songs of empowerment as homework, the message of strength shone through. Here are some samples:

Don’t be Afraid

Chorus

You are the wise woman
You can change the world
Through your strengths
Everything is possible

Verse 1

Everywhere you are as woman
All things are in your hands
Don’t be shy, try and see
Believe in yourself, don’t be afraid

Verse 2

Even if it rains cats and dogs
Stand up for working together
Hard work and determination
Are the roads to any achievement
Believe in yourself, don’t be afraid

Verse 3

Show that you are special
When you smile
Smiling will bring you hope
And strength, in all that you do
Be honest at all times

Verse 4

Don’t be afraid (as woman)
Don’t be afraid ( as woman)
Believe in yourself (as woman)
Believe in yourself (as woman)

Am Strong

Chorus

I’m strong and will always be strong
Even if some men are sometimes apathetic
I will be strong

Verse 1

Whether I am in trouble
I will be strong
Even if people don’t join me
I will be strong
Cause I have vision and am focused on it
I’ll never give up

Verse 2

I don’t care about opinions against me
I will be strong
I have already dreamed that
I will be strong
I will never give up
I believe I will fly so high

Verse 3

I try to find my way to achieve my vision
I believe that I will be strong
I will empower women so
That they will be strong
Chase out fear and all weaknesses we have
Let all women raise their voice and strength

Verse 4

No one can be under laws
Now we have our rights
We will continue to make efforts
To build up our strengths
Our children will make the world wise
I will make the world bright

WE WILL BE STRONG

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