Sunday, January 15, 2012

GIRLFRIENDS OF THE MONTH




Our Girlfriends of the Month are Jean Menchata Foretia (President) and Ijeoma Arize (Vice President) - the brains behind IJE (Walk) Africa, Inc. Formed in 2011, IJE Africa was spearheaded by a vision these two Trinity University graduates had to reach out to African youths and young adults of this generation in order to strengthen and empower them.
IJE Africa’s target population is economically disadvantaged youth (ages 10 - 18) and young adults (ages 19 – 30) in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Africa (Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo) who are culturally diverse- “We are dedicated to assisting the needs of this group to improve their quality of life and the community at large. We aim to provide culturally sensitive and age-appropriate programming to each demographic”.




Their organization is strategically positioned to combat the predominant problems young people all over Africa encounter such as STDS and HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy, single parenthood, poverty, malnutrition, sickness/disease, and illiteracy, which have increased drastically in the past few years. IJE Africa’s projects include:
·        Health and wellness workshops (Youth ages 10 – 18) and (Young adults ages 19 – 30)
·        Entrepreneurship training (Young adults ages 19 – 30)
·        Vocational training (Young adults ages 19 – 30)
·        Abstinence plus workshops (Youth ages 10 - 18 and (Young adults ages 19 – 30)
·        Raising awareness for child trafficking and rape (Youth ages 10 – 18)

One of their recently held events was the fashion show/party at Slaviya lounge in Washington D.C, which took place in August 2011.




"The event was held to raise money to help fight child trafficking and rape in Congo and Sierra Leone. In these two countries rape is been used as a weapon of war. The proceeds will be used to send old clothes, books, shoes and other necessities to Congo and Sierra Leone. There are organizations there that harbour women and children that have been through these horrible ordeals. Hopefully, the containers of necessities we send will be of great use to them."
IJE Africa's next project is a two-day fund raiser event in Cameroon. Currently, there is an outbreak of malaria and cholera in Cameroon. The event would focus on how to reduce the spread of cholera, how to improve malaria treatment, games, competitions, and also the distribution of sanitary supplies by IJE Africa. Their target for next summer is to focus on 'Abstinence' in Nigeria.
For the founders of IJE Africa, "Life is a performance, and the path youths or young adults choose will determine the amount of problems they will experience. Also, one of the most challenging tasks for women and children is learning healthy decision-making skills and gaining knowledge of the opportunities available for their pursuit".

1 comment:

  1. Nice work, Jacqueline. Wishing u and ur partner the best! I hope to feature u guys someday on my blog!

    ReplyDelete