Ayawo
All Youth are Worthy
About Ayawo
At Ayawo, our goals are to ease the suffering of the indigent, distressed, and underprivileged; to advocate and fund the access, equity and integrity of education; and to foster social welfare by condemning prejudice and discrimination, defending human and civil rights, and combatting juvenile delinquency. Our projects center foremost on children, youth and adolescents of color in the United States and globally.
We chase our goals by funding and operating a foster home for Black adolescent boys in Alameda County, California (Our First Home); by providing feminine hygiene products and contraceptive care to women in rural Ghana (Project 2); by funding education for African children (Project 3), and through future projects.
Mission
At Ayawo, we seek to ease the suffering of the indigent, distressed and underprivileged; we advocate and fund the access, equity and integrity of education; and we foster social welfare by condemning prejudice and discrimination, defending human and civil rights, and combatting juvenile delinquency.
Vision
We envision and seek to help bring about a future with less human suffering and more human dignity.
Core Values
Benevolence
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
Aesop
Dignity
“There will never be enough money to give each person the house, the job, the school fees that they need, but we always have enough humanity to treat one another with the respect and dignity that we all deserve.”
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Integrity
“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself. Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.”
Nelson Mandela
Purpose
“This is the great joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as mighty one.”
George Bernard Shaw
Projects
01. Our First Home
Our First Home is a foster home operated and funded by Ayawo, and located in Alameda County, California. The initial child placement will be in fiscal year 1 (2026). Further child placements will be considered in fiscal years 2 and 3 (2027 and 2028).
Our First Home houses and cares for Black adolescent boys (ages 10–17) in the Alameda County foster care system. We will serve children or adolescents with little to no support system, and who may have lost contact with family due to death, incarceration, neglect, or abuse. Plausibly, this child or adolescent has a juvenile record, and faces challenges finding a well-suited foster placement. Even though the boy is bright, he likely struggles in the classroom. Plagued to this point by adversity, given the security and care of a stable home, he has the potential to thrive, and given the necessary academic support and extracurricular opportunities, to excel.
02. Project Two
Project 2 (name TBD) will provide feminine hygiene products and contraceptive care to women in rural Ghana, West Africa. Project 2 will initiate in fiscal year 2 (2027).
03. Project Three
Project 3 (name TBD) will fund the education of talented, innovative, and deserving children on the continent of Africa, focusing initially on Ghana, West Africa. We will cover the costs of education from elementary school through an undergraduate degree. Project 3 will initiate in fiscal year 3 (2028).
Our First Home, The Why:
Part of the problem: In 2021, Black children represented 14% of the total child population in the United States but 22% of all kids in foster care (Annie E. Casey Foundation). In Alameda County, California, Black children are represented in Foster Care at a rate of 15.4 per 1,000 children compared to a rate of 0.6 for Asian and Pacific Islander children, 5.3 for Hispanic and Latino children, 4.4 for White children and a rate of 5.3 for all children. (kidsdata.org).
Part of the problem: African American males are over-represented in the foster care system. Adolescents (age 13-17) comprise the largest group of African American males in foster care. The placement experiences of African American males are troubling, with greater use of congregate care (group homes and other institutional settings) and more frequent placement moves. Exit to permanent families is less likely for African American males than for other children. (Miller et al., 2014).
Part of the problem: For many of the African American youth whose experiences are reflected in this paper, their cumulative experiences in the child welfare system reinforced their isolation and their feeling that their presence was a burden to the professional adult figures to whom they were most closely connected. As one of the young men noted, "Everywhere I went, it felt like I was either ignored or I was a problem." (Miller et al., 2014).
Part of the solution:
Five Essentials for Healthy Adolescents (youth.gov):
- Positive connections with supportive people
- Safe and secure places to live, learn, and play
- Access to high-quality, teen-friendly healthcare
- Opportunities for teens to engage as learners, leaders, team members, and workers
- Coordinated, adolescent- and family-centered services, as needed
Part of the solution: Invest in community-based supports that expand opportunities for African American males and their families. Foundations, the federal government and state and local policymakers should put resources into strategies that improve well-being and successful preparation for adulthood, especially education and employment and strategies that connect young men to lifelong families for African American males in foster care and those who are transitioning to independence. (Miller et al., 2014).
Connect with Us
Alameda County, California 94538
510-671-1847
selaliacolatse@gmail.com