Girl Child Art Foundation (GCAF)

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, since 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 the development of confidence, independence, and self-esteem which is, ultimately, the aim of the organisation. The overall strategies of GCAF are to:

• promote the health of the girl child using all forms of art as a medium of transferring information and raising awareness, with a focus on HIV/AIDS.
• enhance the creative and imaginative abilities of the Nigerian youth, especially the girl child.
• provide girls with education and basic skills by enhancing their talent through all forms of art literary, performing arts, and visual arts.
• advocate for women and girls by providing and equipping them with the skills and knowledge to enhance their social rights.
• work to prevent social ills against girls - e.g., prostitution, child abuse, rape, early marriage, drug addiction, female genital mutilation, and all forms of discrimination.
• organise training classes, workshops, seminars, conferences, and competitions towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
• work with other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) having similar objectives, both within and outside the country.
• ensure that the initiative of the Foundation conforms with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by pursuing at all times its stated educational, economic, social, and other objectives.

As one of their activities, GCAF organised the Nigeria leg of the international workshop "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 International Conference on AIDS and STIs [sexually transmitted infections] in Africa (ICASA) World Conference on HIV/AIDS at Abuja in December 2005.

Children, Women, Gender, HIV/AIDS.

The Foundation was formed on October 19 2000 and is registered with the state Ministry of Women's Affairs and Social Development, Anambra state. It has approximately 2,800 members nationwide between the ages of 8 and 24 years. Membership is open to girls and women who are committed to the objectives of the organisation. The GCAF Campus Initiative (GCI) is open to all youth within any higher institution in Nigeria.