OPINION|
I found a story about courage, resilience and caring, and like many love stories, it’s about a girl, a girl like you and a girl like me. She’s young, and her love and passion for life is infectious.
Her name is Amby. I had never heard this name before and since I am a language professor, I looked it up. It comes from Greek, ambrosiawhich means nectar of the gods and often grants a long life to those who consume it. In other words, just like her name, this girl is special.
Amby Lewis seems to be, like many of us, a Springfield native who juggles school, work and motherhood.
Amby was raised primarily by her mother and some of her siblings. She says she has a traumatic past as her parents struggled with addiction issues while she was giving birth, but her conversation doesn’t revolve around that area. She left home at age 17 and realized she wasn’t quite ready for adult life and had to learn the hard way to survive without much of a support network.
Becoming a young mother was difficult, but she was determined to give other women what she felt she didn’t have, what she had always lacked: mentors and a support network.
Amby began hosting lunches for women in the community under the motto “Women Empowering Other Women.” This became a successful way to connect and create a sense of community for women who needed support in various areas. Unfortunately, COVID-19 came along and the meetings had to be postponed.
Like many of us, this was a time of reflection and self-reflection, and Mrs. Amby Lewis thought of teenage girls who were struggling just as she had at her age. A girl like me network was born.
An idea to provide teenage girls with ongoing classes outside of school to prevent them from getting into trouble, or, as Amby calls it, “to keep them off the streets.”
When I asked Amby who her inspiration and role model was, she said it was precisely the lack of inspiration that led her down the wrong path growing up. She remembered thinking she wanted to make her brother proud, seeing the sacrifices he made as the oldest sibling to make things better for them; but when it comes to girls, she doesn’t remember a mentor or leader who inspired her or “picked her up” as she grew up.
When I asked her how she came up with these ideas, she said her faith was the main aspect that drove her to reach out and pave ways for others. She knew what was missing for young girls and women and she wanted to make a difference in her community.
“This is what I want to offer with A girl like me network“I know what it’s like to come out of a difficult situation and feel abandoned and judged. I want to be there for girls, to support them, to guide them through and out of adversity and to open up better paths for them,” she says.
A girl like me network started in 2021. It is a holistic program designed to provide an authentic network where girls feel like a second family. She strives to inspire girls and provide them with role models. She invites speakers weekly and teaches the girls useful skills like CPR during her table talks. Amby is aware of the need for women in science, technology, engineering, and math and is very intentional about finding ways for the teens to be exposed to fields like science and math through her community partners.
Other popular topics in the curriculum she creates for her group include topics around self and mental care, financial planning, cooking classes, languages for travelers, and of course camping. She wants to teach life skills and the motivation to be the best version of themselves, but most importantly, a safe place outside of school where the children have the opportunity to socialize, learn and grow; but most importantly, where they feel seen and valued.
“This is a program for every girl, there is room for everyone,” says Amby.
Amby also has her business Queen City Teas and Steamers LLCShe works full time, goes to school and is a mother to three wonderful children who help her with all her projects. She believes that they also need to be included in the building and learning process and as a single mother, she dedicates time with them as a top priority. She is also a caregiver. Her mother lives with her and she believes in giving back to our elders and is grateful for the opportunity to care for them: “We support each other and she is a great grandmother.”
Amby dreams of many boarding schools around the world. She believes that not every child fits where the system puts them. She envisions a school for young girls where they receive every kind of care and education, but most of all a sense of family and belonging.
This is Amby Lewis, a girl like you, a girl like me, who, as her name suggests, tries to share life with everyone around her.
Editor’s note: Judith Martinez-Garcia believes Springfield is full of treasures. In her monthly column, she tells the stories of those who in some way influence, change or help strengthen the heart of this beautiful place.
