Chanuka Tuchanuane

Chanuka Tuchanuane is a community based organization involving a school program to provide education to young girls that lack access to other facilities and the parental support they need. The program works to bring girls off the streets and into the schools to help improve the conditions of their lives and realize their dreams and fulfill their potentials as positive and productive members of their society. In addition to education, the organization is involved in feeding programs, as well as rehabilitation services for former drug users, and counseling for girls coming from vulnerable and often traumatic conditions of street life.

 

Chanuka Tuchanuane is a youth initiative set up to reach the young people in the community. Education, particularly emphasizing basic literacy, is a central principal of Chanuka Tuchanuane. It has school programs which provide education the young girls, covering a range of topics including some of the most pressing issues and threats that young African girls face such as teenage pregnancy, early marriage, abortion, drug abuse, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

 

Recognizing that far too many girls drop out of school early as the result of early marriage, pregnancy, illness (including HIV infection), drug use, financial constraints and a whole slew of other obstacles, the program works to bring girls back into the school environment and reduce their level of ostracism from their communities. Their education programs are aimed at increasing female literacy so that the young girls can secure stable employment as women and provide for themselves and their families without having to turn to street life to survive. Watch here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wLJr7WIEXY&NR=1 as girls recite a poem about their right to education, and their fight to overcome neglect by their parents to become the leaders of tomorrow.

 

The organization emphasizes transparency and its staff members are dedicated to leading by example, many of them coming out of street life themselves. Through these shared experiences, and given that the organization is at present entirely funded by the local people, Chanuka Tuchanuane is able to reach those girls at the local level who are most in need, educate them about they dangers they face regarding their education, health, sexuality, and economic potential, and provide them with positive alternatives and expanded opportunities through education.

 

Chanuka Tuchanuane is looking to expand its reach in the community, to raise global awareness on the issues its members face, and to expand its donor base into the international arena. To learn more watch this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYpdYior9AI) from their staff, visit their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/people/Chanuka-Tuchanuane/100000891957867), or contact them at chanukatuchanuane@yahoo.com.