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Published on The Communication Initiative Network (http://www.comminit.com)

Girl Child Art Foundation (GCAF)


Programme Summary: 
The Girl Child Art Foundation (GCAF) in Nigeria is a membership organisation of girls and women which aims to promote the development of girls and women through a focus on girl children and the arts. Girl children are promoted by facilitating their participation in arts related skills trainings, talent hunts, conferences, workshops, poetry competitions, arts festivals, concerts and arts exhibitions. All events and activities at the same time also aim to address issues and raise awareness around girl child education, rights of the girl child, child abuse, health and HIV/AIDS. The foundation collaborates with local and international agencies and partners in executing their programmes.
Communication Strategies: 

GCAF believes that creating an arena or forum for girls will contribute to the empowerment of young girls as this will encourage them to compete with each other and not with boys. According to the founder of the organisation, Ada Onyejike, girls will tend to lean on boys when tasks need to be achieved but will be more competitive around girls. The organisation uses the arts as part of this process as the arts are believed to promote personal creativity and expression. Girls are encouraged to play music, sing and teach people through their works, paintings, write ups and poems. This in turn encourages confidence, independence and self esteem which is ultimately the aim of the organisation.

The overall objectives of GCAF are to:


  • promote the health of the girl-child including HIV/AIDS awareness using all forms of art as a medium of transferring information.
  • enhance the creative and imaginative abilities of the Nigerian Youth especially the Girl Child.
  • provide Girl Child education and basic development skills by enhancing their talent through all forms of art literary, performing arts and visual arts.
  • advocate for the rights of women and children especially the girls child by providing and equipping them with skills and knowledge to enhance their social rights and also prevent other social ills against girls e.g. prostitution, child abuse, rape early marriage, drug addiction, female genital mutilation and all forms of discrimination against women and girls’.
  • organise training classes, workshops, seminars conferences and competitions towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
  • work with other NGO's having similar objectives both within and outside the country.
  • ensure that the initiative of the foundation shall conform with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and that accordingly the foundation shall at all times pursue the educational, economic, social and other objectives of foundation.

As one of their activities, the Girl Child Art Foundation organised the Nigeria leg of the international workshop tagged “Peace Tile Project: Building Bonds between people and communities through art”. The Peace Tile Workshop was a prelude to World Aids Day on December 1 2005. The workshop's goal was to raise awareness about the vulnerability of children and youth to HIV/AIDS, and to provide them with a means for self-advocacy and self expression through a combination of collage and mural work. Works from the workshops were exhibited during the ICASA World conference on HIV/AIDS at Abuja in December 2005.

Development Issues: 

Chuildren, Women, Gender, HIV/AIDS.

Key Points: 

The foundation was formed on October 19 2000 and is registered with the state ministry of women affair and social development, Anambra state. It has membership strength of about 2,800 members nation wide within the ages of 8-24 years.

Membership is open to girls and women who are committed to the objectives of the organisation. It has membership strength of over 2,800 girls nation-wide between the ages of 8-24 years (including members from the on-campus project in different higher institutions in Nigeria).Under the GCAF Campus Initiative (GCI) membership is open to all youths within any higher institution in Nigeria.

Contact Info: 
Source: 

GCFY website on August 4 2006 and Daily Sun Article on August 29 2006.


Source URL:
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/133375