Jackson Hospital’s robotic surgeon Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal and Amerika Blair from the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation will emcee the event featuring hands-on STEM activities, food, fashion, music and dance from multiple world cultures.
The Board of Directors of Women in Training, Inc. elected Dr. Nandini Ramroop, a physician with the United States Veterans Administration Hospital, as Chairwoman of the second annual Women In Training, Inc. International Day of the Girl Festival.
The celebration will be held on Sept. 28, 2024, from10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Union Station Train Shed, located at 210 Waters Street in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. The event is produced by WIT, a nonprofit organization that advocates for menstrual equity, in collaboration with the City of Montgomery Special Events Department.
The festival is being held in honor of International Day of the Girl Child. Celebrated on Oct. 11, International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address challenges girls face, promote girls’ empowerment and promote the fulfillment of girls’ human rights.
Ramroop, a prominent community leader of Indo-Caribbean descent, is leading this celebratory event for girls for the second consecutive year.
“International Day of the Girl is a global event celebrating girls’ empowerment and brings attention to the challenges that girls face,” Ramroop said. “I am honored to once again chair this event on behalf of Women in Training, Inc., as this is the leading organization providing a platform to address girls’ needs. I am also happy to celebrate unity in culture and diversity in our very own Capital City.”
Breanna and Brooke Bennett, Women in Training, Inc.'s 17-year-old founders, will unveil the new WIT Mobile at the festival. WIT volunteers will distribute WITKITS of menstrual, dental and hygiene supplies at the free community event. The American Red Cross of Central Alabama donated the Emergency Response Vehicle as part of the national Red Cross Community Adaptation Program.
Amerika Blair and Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal are the fabulous duo who will emcee the festival.
Blair, the i-Team (Innovation) Director for Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation, supporting the City of Montgomery Mayor’s Office, is co-founder of The Blair Family Foundation and curator of The Outspoken Women Collective. She is a noncommissioned officer in the United States Air Force Reserves and serves on the Board of Directors for the Junior League of Montgomery and Montgomery Community Action Board of Directors.
Blair is a 2021 Policy Fellow for the Black to the Future Public Policy Institute, a 2022 Women's Policy Institute Fellow, and completed The Campaign School at Yale University in 2023. Blair is in the Central Alabama’s 40 under 40 class of 2023, an alumnus of Leadership Montgomery’s Torchbearers and Leadership Alabama's Alabama Leadership Initiative. She received her master’s degree from Columbia University.
"I'm excited to join this celebration of the power of girls and highlight, discuss and take action to advance the issues of girls globally,” Blair said. “Girls truly run the world and this event is an amazing display of diversity, unity, and advancement!"
Aggarwal, a robotics surgeon, works as Chief of Urology, Chief of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Urology and Director of the Comprehensive Pelvic Floor Center at Jackson Hospital. Aggarwal is the first – and only – fellowship trained specialist in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery in central Alabama and one of the few in the entire state of Alabama.
Aggarwal completed his medical education and surgical residency in India, his surgical internship at Duke University, a urology residency at the Albany Medical Center and an accredited fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
“Celebrating girls globally is very important to ensure a more equitable and inclusive society for them. It will also help build their confidence and self-esteem, and recognize their potential and contributions,” Aggarwal said. “I love being a urogynecology specialist because it allows me to make a significant difference in the equality of life of women by helping them regain their confidence and daily functioning.”
Women in Training, Inc. is honored this year that Alabama State University alumna Marilyn "Vonnie" Hobbs has joined the team as Stage Manager.
Hobbs has worked in the Legal Profession for 30 years, working for Chrysler Corporation and Alabama Supreme Court. She has also worked for the City of Montgomery with the Armory Arts program which contributed to her love for the arts. She currently works for Montgomery County Elections.
Hobbs is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and has served as co-chairman and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.'s three national youth enrichment programs that are designed to promote the development of young girls and boys. These include, but are not limited to, Delta GEMS, Delta Academy and EMBODI. Hobbs is also a member of the One Montgomery organization, and sits on the board of directors of the Montgomery Botanical Gardens and Friends of the Theater.
The free International Day of the Girl Festival will open with a Land Acknowledgement by artist Tori Nicole Jackson, a descendent of the Indigenous Mvskoke nation. Last year, Women in Training, Inc. named Jackson the WIT Woman of Excellence in the Art category.
The festival will feature interactive STEM activities for children, including a virtual reality headset experience, a slime lab and a tinker station facilitated by the Children’s Museum of Montgomery.
Girls and their family members can also make healthy, sweet smelling body scrubs with Aqualime Skincare.
Stick A Fork In It Culinary Classes for Kids will facilitate a delectable unicorn parfait-creation workshop for girls and their families.
Girls and their families will also enjoy performances of Caribbean dances by Kash Kinetics Dance, choreographed by Kay Phifer.
New acts this year include performances by the Filipino-American Association.
HeartBeat Dance Company will mesmerize the audience with Latina dances, choreographed by Jessica Ponte.
Other highlights include engaging European performances by the Montgomery Greek Dancers and Montgomery Ballet, choreographed by Rania Charalambidou, Principal Dancer.
A crowd favorite will be a step show performed by members of African American Divine 9 sororities, including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Montgomery (AL) Alumnae Chapter; and Sigma Gamma Rho's youth group, the Iota Eta Sigma Rhoer Club.
Ten-year-old Indian classical singer, Raaga Ryali, will touch everyone's heart with her music.
Ishan Patel from Atlanta will perform traditional Dhol drumming to keep girls moving on their feet during the festival!
Sweet Lipika Das will delight the audience by performing a traditional Bangali folk dance from Bangladesh.
Everyone in Alabama can look forward to a showcase again this year by Shivalaya School of Indian Classical Dance, choreographed by Sudha Raghuram.
Ms. Salma Ali will once again choreograph a fashion show featuring Pakistani clothing and cultural dance.
International food and drink will be available for purchase from vendors.
Headlining the event will be its keynote speaker, Imani Marley-Husbands, author of the three-book series Folk Tales of the Caribbean, where she shares life lessons learned or passed down through the eyes of a child living in the Caribbean.
Marley-Husbands lived in Boston; Mandeville, Jamaica; Hampton, Virginia; and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands before settling in Atlanta. She is a founding member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. chapter at the University of the West Indies, and is co-president of the UWI alumni association in Georgia.
Immediately prior to Ms. Marley-Husbands' keynote address, her We Does Fete Masquerade Band from Atlanta will perform in elaborate, jeweled costumes with masks, cracking of whips and joyous dance steps in the Caribbean Carnival tradition imported from West Africa.
Nana Nyoka Samuels-Gilchrist will formally close the program with a traditional Akan blessing ceremony from Ghana, West Africa.
Enjoy scenes from the inaugural WIT International Day of the Girl Festival in 2023 by clicking the video below.
One in four American girls and young women skip school or miss work because they cannot afford sanitary pads or tampons to stay healthy and clean during their period. To alleviate
period poverty, Women in Training, Inc.'s teenage twin co-founders, Breanna and Brooke Bennett, successfully advocated for the passage of Alabama State Rep. Rolanda Hollis’ HB 50 that allocates $400,000 annually to Title I schools to provide menstrual supplies for more than 50,000 menstruating girls statewide.
WIT also distributes WITKITS of menstrual, dental and hygiene supplies to girls and women in need to help end period poverty. Since July 2019, Women in Training, Inc. volunteers have given away more than 30,000 WITKITS at schools, shelters and at community events. The nonprofit organization also provides menstrual education training, and operates the WIT Leadership Development Academy for middle and high school girls.
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