On the 24th of April, Blessed Is She (BIS) celebrated 5 years of restoring identities, establishing purpose, and molding young girls into confident women.
Founded by Nicole Willemse, Blessed Is She targets women between 21 and 30 years old. However, Willemse went out of the box on the fifth anniversary and celebrated the huge milestone with 150 grade 6 and 7 girls from Eros Primary School.
“This year, Blessed Is She has made the decision to be more impactful within society, so we have chosen a theme, which is menstrual health, and most importantly, how to make it your best school buddy,” Willemse said, adding that the goal is to educate the schoolgirls to see their menstrual health as a partner instead of a burden that comes along with puberty.
Willemse added that the theme was selected because Menstrual Hygiene Day is within a month, so this was a good way to begin the conversation.
Expectations
Hefeni, in grade 7, said that she didn’t know a lot about menstruation but said that such events are important for girls her age because they get to learn things they are supposed to know for the future.
Mutakame, in the sixth grade, said that her expectation was to learn more about her health and that this event will teach her about her period and how it’s going to be.
Hendrin Shikongo, the Miss Namibia 2024 Finalist, as well as a champion of children’s welfare, said she hopes the children grasp as much information as they can while having fun too.
“I believe it is important for young girls to be connected with other young women so that we can learn from each other. I mean, we’re all sisters anyway,” Shikongo said.
Paulina Kamati, a Blessed Is She leader and teacher by profession, said that young women should join BIS because it teaches essential life skills like emotional intelligence, financial skills, and modesty in today’s world.
Kamati also taught the schoolgirls about hormones like eostrogen and how they affect growth and development.
“It’s because of that chemical messenger that you start to see changes in your body, and pregnancy and menstruation are only possible because of this hormone,” Kamati said.
Future endeavours
As for where Willemse sees Blessed Is She next year, she couldn’t help but chuckle, asking herself if she had even planned so far into the future.
“The good thing about Blessed Is She is the fact that this is something God gave us, so we rest in His promise and His Word to know that He has got us covered. He has carried us for five years, and we just need to follow in His plan for the next five,” Willemse said, ensuring the friends and supporters of Blessed Is She that the mandate will never change.
“Blessed Is She is here to establish purpose and restore the identities of young women and girls within this country. If we have to think of it beyond the next five years, it would be to grow outside the borders of Windhoek and into all 14 regions,” Willemse said.
“I would like to see Blessed Is She as a household name.”
Nicole Willemse
“Blessed Is She is me, you, the girls in the Ohangwena region, the Omaheke region, and the !Kharas region. I would like to see all the Namibian girls owning the name,” the founder said.
