Family Health & Support Network, Inc.
GIRLS Rites of Passage
Background, Vision and Philosophy
The Sisters of Nia, Desert Region is a project undertaking by Seven (7) culturally conscious African American women who desire to accept their communal responsibility of coaching, teaching, mentoring, encouraging, and learning our African American girls. All with love and understanding . . .
The Sisters of Nia program is aimed at reinforcing and bringing out the strengths of African American girls. In the Kiswahili (Swahili) language, the word nia means purpose or goal. Many African American girls have high goals, but they may not know how to achieve them. They may not be able to connect their current behaviors or the behaviors of those around them with their future goals. Sisters of Nia seeks to bridge this divide. Studies have shown that culturally relevant intervention programs can give girls help in achieving the direction, relationship skills, identity empowerment, and critical consciousness that lead to more positive self-esteem and relationships with others, greater ethnic pride, and higher expectations for future accomplishments.
The Sisters of Nia program is a culturally rich supplemental environment from which young African American girls can learn. The program serves as a rite of passage that complements other efforts within the family, school, or community. Specifically, the program’s objectives are as follows:
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To increase knowledge of and appreciation for African and African American culture
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To increase ethnic pride and identity
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To increase identification with and awareness of successful African American female role models
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To develop critical awareness and skills for analyzing community and media messages
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To increase positive peer relationships and to decrease negative peer interactions
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To increase leadership skills and creativity
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To increase appreciation for the diversity of physical beauty and attractiveness
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To increase knowledge about personal hygiene and health
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To increase life-course expectations regarding education and other achievements
The program recruits African American girls age 10-15 to participate in a weekly Cultural Enhancement Intervention designed to empower African American girls. The girls are picked up from local schools, provided exciting and culturally rich programming, served a healthy meal and transported back to their families each program day. While the program falls within the Family Heath & Support Network, INC’s BRAAF Prevention Programs, Sisters of Nia is a Volunteer Based program that receives funding through contributions and in-kind donations. Everyone is encouraged to support the program by making a donation at:
http://www.gofundme.com/SONENHANCEMENT
ABOUT GIRLS RITES OF PASSAGE
Each session is built on one or more of the following Eight Principles for African American Living (Nguzo Nane):
1. Umoja: Unity
2. Kujichagulia: Self-Determination
3. Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility (Teamwork)
4. Ujamaa: Cooperative Economics
5. Nia: Purpose
6. Kuumba: Creativity
7. Imani: Faith
8. Heshema: Respect
Each Sister of Nia will receive a framed copy of the Nguzo Nane to be hung in their homes to serve as a reminder of the principles to live by.
While Jamaas will create rules specific to the functioning of their group, following rules each girl is expected to follow:
1. Respect elders
2. Respect one another
3. Speak only positively about people
4. Maintain confidentiality
5. No fighting
6. Wear t-shirt at each session
7. Participate
Each Sister of Nia is expected to learn the “Sisters of Nia Creed”.
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We will not speak negatively of, ridicule, or belittle our sisters.
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We will work to help each other have positive feelings about who we are by complimenting each other.
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We accept responsibility for what we do, who we are, and what we can become.
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We will trust our inner voices.
When, Where and How Long . . .
The Desert Region Sisters of Nia is facilitated at the beautiful, culturally rich BRANCH House in Palm Desert, California. The program is delivered one day per week for three hours for 14-weeks after-school. Program times are: 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, each Friday. Youth participants are provided transportation, a program t-shirt and a healthy meal is served at each session.
Responsibility
Respect
Restraint
Reconciliation
Reciprocity
Realness
Reason
Interconnectedness
Interdependence
Inclusivity
Participatory
Patience
Perseverance
Sacrifice
Spirituality
Cooperation
Sharing
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Curriculum Overview
The Sisters of Nia curriculum is a 14-eek cultural enrichment program designed to encourage African American preadolescent and adolescent girls, ages 9 to 14, to develop behaviors, critical consciousness, and self-respect. Participants are organized into Jamaas, or groups, of no more than twelve. A Mzee or respected elder, in this case female, facilitates each jamaa. Each mzee is responsible for working as a member of the program’s facilitating team, as well as for leading each two-hour session.
The Seven Principles of Nquzo Saba, plus an eighth principle—the principle of Heshema, or respect—provide the framework for the sessions. The whole program is based on the principle of nia, or purpose, and aims to help the girls become “Sisters of Purpose.” Through discussion, guest speakers, trust and confidence-building activities, journaling, and application of the lessons outside of the program space, the girls explore and integrate these principles into their own lives and so move toward this goal. In keeping with the Africentric focus, the program integrates a number of words from the Kiswahili language.
Africentric and Relational Principles and Methods
In traditional African families, raising children and shepherding them through rites of passage are communal responsibilities—thus the popular saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” Sisters of Nia adopts and adapts this philosophy for girls growing up here in the United States, where communal way of life is dwindling, if not largely lost. As such, the program employs structural and teaching strategies that focus on both community and individual responsibility. These elements include mzees, jamaas, the durara, umoja, tambiko, the call and response, the Nguzo Nane, and sessions about African history and culture.
The program’s mzees, or leaders, are modeled on their traditional counterparts. Mzees not only act as facilitators for each session, just as they do in traditional African culture, they also serve as accessible models for the girls. It is important that parents get to know the program mzees as these are the women who will be leading and guiding their daughters. Each of the mzees bring a special and important gift to the girls and their commitment to empowering the girls will be benefited by the gifts they bring.
In addition to its Africentric focus, a central feature of the program is its relational nature. Interpersonal relationships and connections are primary to the development of identity in girls. The curriculum seeks to provide a structure that promotes and nourishes positive interpersonal relationships between peers and adults. Our expectation is that the attitude and skills associated with these positive relationships will extend beyond the program to the domains of home, school, and community.
What’s In It For My Daughter?
Rites of Passage programs are a leading intervention for African-American youth. We provide a safe, programmatically rich, no cost program to African-American girls and their families. Our facilities are culturally rich, comfortable and meet the highest standards and requirements in the industry. With our emphasis on evidence-based practices, positive skill development and high cultural regard combined with our supportive therapeutic approach, our program is a highly effective solution for our youth.
The program offers a life-changing experience for girls as they strive to examine, explore, dissect, articulate and most importantly develop strategies that will help to eradicate the inter-generational challenges experienced by young and older Black females.
The goal of Sisters of Nia – Desert Region is to simulate a culturally rich environment that presents practical strategies, techniques and solutions through the presentation of interactive modules of skills and knowledge, expert presenters, best practices and resources that will assist girls in developing realistic models and concrete recommendations they can put into practice in their own lives and communities. The modules are designed to offer programming and intervention strategies that are psychologically and cognitively appropriate for African-American female youth. SON becomes a place for transformative action and communication where GIRLS, Mzees and elders can share intellectual, emotional, spiritual and cultural opportunities for growth and development that improves the quality of life for African American girls, their families and their communities.
We have purposely infused a discovery engine to help provoke meaningful knowledge. Our girls will be exposed to Art, Science & Technology, Culture & History, Literature, Creativity & Innovation, Media & Communication and Thought & Opinion.
GIRLS receive consistent and caring discipleship from skilled and committed mzees. Meeting the needs of our girls and helping them to discover themselves is the key to our success. Only within this context of a safe, trusting and supportive environment — along with strong parental and community involvement can long-lasting changes and empowerment be instilled.
In addition to the infusion of seven (7) basic principles that are taught through modules of skills, knowledge and practice, your son will affirm ten virtues through his experiences and participation in the program:
1. Control their thoughts
2. Control their actions
3. Have devotion of purpose
4. Have faith in the Master to teach the Truth
5. Have faith in their ability to assimilate the truth
6. Have faith in their ability to wield the truth
7. Be free from resentment under persecution
8. Be free from resentment under wrong doing
9. Cultivate the ability to distinguish right from wrong
10. Cultivate the ability to tell the real from the unreal