YOUTH INITIATIVES

Boulevard and Sycamore Girls Clubs

The Boulevard and Sycamore Girls Clubs in Havertown, Pennsylvania answered the call to get involved in Harambee Youth projects. Through some research, they learned how paper bead jewelries are made in Uganda. Then applied what they learned in an afternoon of fun and crafts-making.

Another crafts project they chose in learning about African culture was the Adinkra symbol cloth hangings from Ghana. They used creativity and originality in making their home-made Adinkra printed cloths.

Finally, the girls saved their allowances and donated the proceeds to Harambee USA to help elementary aged children in the poor schools in Sierra Leone. They are also engaged in solidarity project by offering study hours for Africa. For future projects, the girls would like to try some of the cookie recipes from Africa.

The Avenue Girls Cookie Bake

Four girls in The Avenue, a New York-based leadership program for young women, donated the proceeds of Christmas cookie sales to Harambee USA Foundation. The Avenue girls baked and decorated hundreds of festive cookies, which they delivered to families and friends who had ordered the treats. The $280 raised by selling the cookies was a special Christmas gift to Harambee USA. It was inspiring to see young women use their talents to support Harambee USA initiatives in education, healthcare and professional skills training in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Avenue is a leadership program for young women.

The program equips middle school and high school young women with the confidence and skills they need to give direction to their lives; to discover a sense of purpose; to aspire to their personal best; and to make positive contributions to each of life's avenues. The program inspires participants to make positive, active choices that will enable them to become leaders as professionals, mothers and members of their community.

The Avenue offers cultural seminars, individual mentoring, discussion forums and hands-on activities, as well as interactive career and skills development presentations.