Lynn celebrates International Day of the Girl

LYNN – It might seem like every day that girls are celebrated at Girls Inc., but Friday it included speeches, encouragement and cake in honor of the International Day of the Girl.”This is to celebrate who you are, who you will become and who you have the right to become,” said Girls Inc. Executive Director Deb Ansourlian to an auditorium filled with girls.The organization, along with Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy and Superintendent Catherine Latham, came together for the second annual celebration.On Dec. 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution to declare Oct. 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. That aim is to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges they face around the world.Tanasia Hill and Naila Mora, both 12, spoke and credited Girls Inc. for helping them gain confidence, take their education seriously and learn to advocate for themselves.”I’m so glad my mother and my aunt made me sign up for Girls Inc.,” Mora said. “It got me really thinking about my education and what I want to be when I grow up.”Kennedy asked the girls how many played on a Little League team or in a softball league and more than a dozen raised their hands.”Did you know when I was your age, girls couldn’t play Little League and there was no softball league,” she said. “When I was your age there were colleges that girls couldn’t go to; they were only for boys.”But her family was supportive and always told her she could do or be whatever she wanted.”I don’t think they ever mentioned mayor, but here I am,” she said. “And I am the first female mayor in the 161 years of Lynn, and I’m very proud of that.”Kennedy attributes her success, not only at being elected mayor, but in all she does, to having drive and confidence. She said it was important to believe in herself, so when Girls Inc. leaders tell them they’re strong, smart and bold, to quote the Girls Inc. motto, they should believe it.Kennedy left the girls with a proclamation declaring Friday “The Day of the Girl.””It’s a great day for girls here,” agreed Latham.Latham told the girls they were lucky to be living in a city that appreciated women, but that they needed to remember that getting an education will take them wherever they want to go.”Take classes you never thought you could pass but that interest you,” she urged. “Take risks.”She told the girls a story about a man who came to see her, upset that his son had been reprimanded by his teacher. The man comes from a country that does not educate women, she said. After having to deal with a teacher, principal, superintendent and mayor who are all women, “his world was turned upside down by the women in power.””Turn the world upside down, ladies,” Latham said. “Join the mayor and myself; it’s a great place to be.”