the ballerrina project (2012)

A screenshot of my Tumblr's description

In 2012, I sent a dozen of my girlfriends the following message to join me in celebration of my upcoming birthday.  I may do something similar this year.

The email reads below:

Dearest friend,

This year, for my birthday I will be honoring and acknowledging the women who have enriched and touched my life.

“If you want to have a light for your path, light someone else’s.”

This Buddhist quote has resonated with me and has provided direction in my own pursuits and it is with deep appreciation and love that I take this opportunity to thank you for shining your light on me and on my own given path.  I am eternally grateful and blessed.

I don’t say it enough, but your friendship has been a remarkable gift in my life and through the years trading hopes, dreams, and aspirations, I have been touched and inspired beyond measure.

2012 has presented itself with enormous prospect and promise, and I would like to dedicate this work of love to you, “the ballerrina project”.

Last year, I came across the Girl Effect, a movement created by the Nike Foundation, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since then.  I‘ve wanted--badly! to share its message and align myself with its efforts in a special way.  The initiative focuses on the powerful potential of one girl to end the cycle of poverty beginning in adolescence--meaningfully, at the age of 12.

As you may know, my life began in two developing countries--Nigeria and the Philippines.  My ties to these two places have been my greatest influences and humbling anchors in which I pursue any means to pay my blessings forward.

For months, I looked back at my own experiences, although 16 years removed, and I was struck by the telling truths I championed at the age of 12, my own untapped potential.  In our adolescence, long before the pressure and demands of outside influences (high school & college) masked these ideals, we were setting off to embark on our own paths of fulfillment and purpose.

I realized--whatever I was spending my time on and with, whatever I was daydreaming about, doodling, reading, listening to, laid the foundations for what would lead me to my current pursuits and ultimately, this project.  Blessed with opportunity being raised and educated in the U.S., I was given every chance to thrive and succeed.  I believe spreading this awareness and pooling our resources together can be the least we can do for our sisters who are not so fortunate.

This year, 2012, I invite you to share your own story, through personal reflection and rediscovery--for that 12-year old girl who holds the key to your life’s dreams.

Your profound and unique story and personal experiences could help someone, as it already made a positive impact on mine.

These are my personal beliefs--

I believe in the power of storytelling, that your life’s experiences are meant to be shared to help others, that what you offer in unique gifts and talents can make a direct impact in your communities and in the lives of countless other girls who are awakening to their own potential and champion inside.

This is my testament to the enduring power of living one’s truth, to the touching and uplifting power of friendship, and to the power of one girl’s dream to lead the path that was destined for her.


Let’s make her proud.



In appreciation and love,

Rina Dakanay