Tanzania youth in Action for Develpment

Youth in Action is an initiative of New Life Gospel Community Church but works independently and does not receive funding from the church. Youth in Action is a volunteer-powered organization working to uplift the standard of living among the youth of Tanzania..

In the areas which we are serving, there are no other organizations working to ameliorate the living standards of youth.

There is no national governmental organization that is providing either formal or informal education to young people in Tanzania for free or at a low cost. Youth are left on the streets because they lack any vocational training or skills. The high price of education means that many students drop out at a young age due to lack of funds. Youth in Action aims to take these Youth off the streets by training them to be self-reliant or self-employed.

While youth were once valued as a "tomorrow nation", they have since been ignored in many areas of development. Today, they are seen as burdens in the community. Youth in Action will help youth participate fully in the social, economical and cultural development of their country.

Tanzania is one of the world's most poverty-stricken countries. Most youth are poor because they have no means of earning an income. They lack capital, education, and the support of any external or governmental organization. Youth in Action will secure loans for small-scale income generating activities for youth.

In addition to this, Youth in Action also addresses social and physical issues affecting youth, such as gender, reproductive health, and drug abuse through counseling and education.

Youth in action is now advocating for the rights of youth and children in Tanzania with a special focus on the rights of young girls because they suffer more in the community than boys. There are seven reasons that give us a background on which we stand to help give a voice on behalf of young girls.

Girls are sexually abused from the age of 1.
Girls are easily affected by HIV/AIDS at early age due to sexual abuse.
Girls can easily become pregnant at the age of 13 and become single mothers.
Girls are forced to get married at the age of 13 but boys are not forced into marriage; it remains their choice.
Girls are employed as maids, baby sitters, cooks, house girls, and many other dangerous jobs at age 10-15.
In our community, girls are forced to drop out of school due to family reasons.
Girls are not given equal opportunities in the family in respect to their education, freedom and other civil rights.
We also address human trafficking, as girls are sold like cows and goats. Many girls are told by relatives and parents that they are going to live a better life in the towns, but when they are brought in town they are used as slaves.

Due to this, there is:

an increase in uneducated girls in town
an increase in street girls/parking ladies.
an increase in unwanted pregnancies among the urban girls.
an increase of HIV/AIDS infection among young girls.
a growing number of young single mothers.

AWARENESS

Youth in Action created a project called TUJIHESHIMU through which we provide reproductive health information.

We create awareness about the existence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. We educate the youth on how to stay free from the infection (to contain the spread). We also educate the older people on the risks of getting into bed with young girls.

TRAINING

We train the youth in tailoring, embroidery, business
administration and accounts.

OUR OVERALL GOALS

To establish Tanzania Youth in Action for Development as a forum to provide information, education, and communication on economic issues, reproductive health activities, and drug abuse.
To uplift the standard of living of youth, single mothers, and children.
To generate awareness regarding the consequences of drug abuse.
To provide reproductive health information about STDs, especially HIV/AIDS.
To assist in educational programs that target youth and children.

OTHER OBJECTIVES

To fight out drug abuse and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, most notably HIV/AIDS.
To engage in literacy programs for youth and children.
To facilitate the formation of lobbying and to support youth groups in a variety of sectors.
To facilitate the provision of social and legal education, vocational training, career development, job placement and work opportunities.
To create capacities and mechanisms to properly address the problems and needs of youth and children.
To implement income-generating activities for single mothers, youth, and victims of drug abuse.
To raise the financial resources necessary to support and adequately address the objectives of Youth in Action