Founded in 2009, Sisters of Nia, Incorporated is an organization dedicated to serving adolescent girls in grades 6, 7, and 8 living in urban communities. Through the teaching of Afrocentric values, our program aims to reinforce and bring out the natural strengths of girls, while encouraging them to live their live with a purpose. This year, we have 45 girls enrolled. We have over 90 alumnae and have served at least 450 youth, both boys and girls, through our annual youth leadership conference, talent show, and summer performing arts camp.
Adolescent girls are at the stage where developmental changes coincide with other transitions, more specifically the transitions from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school (Belgrave, et al., 2008). Not only are their bodies changing, but their lives, goals, behaviors, and personalities are in transition as well. Sisters of Nia sets out to help girls strive during these difficult changes by providing curriculum in which girls are supported, nurtured, and empowered.
Our Program
Each lesson is designed around one of our eight principles, or our Nguzo Nane, and is grade level specific. These principles, which are Kiswahili words, represent eight values of African culture that help build and reinforce community among African-Americans. We expect our program directors, facilitators, and girls to live their daily lives according to these principles.
Through our interactions with our girls, we aim to:
Strengthen knowledge and appreciation for African American culture, ethnic pride, and identity.
Improve self-esteem.
Inspire self-motivation leading to the achievement of academic and personal goals.
Reinforce positive peer relationships and decrease negative peer interactions
Develop a strong sense of social responsibly.
Provide health education.
Our Core Beliefs & Values:
We believe each girl has the potential to be successful.
We believe each girl has the ability to change and to create change.
We believe it is essential that each girl be taught to maintain a balance between personal and emotional health, personal growth, and self-care.
We value each girl as a unique individual with unique gifts and talents.
We embrace Afrocentric values.
We value direct and honest communication between the leaders and the girls at an effort to maintain authenticity of the program.
Much of this is accomplished through the performing arts.
Who can participate?
Sisters of Nia is open to girls of all ethnicities and backgrounds. Our data has proven that participation in the three-year program leads to greater emotional maturity, enhanced decision making, academic improvement, and more positive relationships and life skills for our members. Our activities and lessons are based on researched theory in order to achieve the highest levels of growth and success for our participants.
Program Culmination:
The program culminates in eighth grade with a college tour and Rites of Passage ceremony. We maintain high levels of contact with our enrolled participants as well as our alumni, serving as on on-going community resource that provides referrals for counseling, tutoring, and other outreach services for families in need.
Sisters of Nia, Inc. seeks to empower socially and economically disadvantaged adolescent girls by providing cultural and educational programs designed to instill strong social skills, leadership development, and academic excellence in our young ladies.
Needs
Our needs include support for the following:
• Capacity building so we can offer program affiliations and program leadership training.
• Hire and pay staff competitive wages for their work.
• Increase the number of scholarships we offer.
• Increase the dollar amount of the scholarships we offer.
• Copyright and publish our curriculum.
• Board development.
• General operating expenses.
Equity Statement
At Sisters of Nia, Inc., diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of who we are. Our commitment to these values is unwavering – across all of our work and all of our programs. They are central to our mission and to our impact. We know that having varied perspectives helps generate better ideas to solve the complex problems of a changing—and increasingly diverse—world.