Our Projects
Explore how Colors of Connection is supporting girls and young people through community-based art projects. We work in places impacted by violence, both refugee camps and residential urban locations.
Musichana Hamuka, or “Girl Awakening,” is our flagship program in Goma, DR Congo.
Musichana Hamuka (Girl Awakening) supports girls and young women in an urban, densely populated neighborhood in Goma, DRC, a region plagued by decades of conflict.
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January 2020 - Current
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527 girls & 20 mentors
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20 community leaders, 207 parent / guardians
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24,000 people reached
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Promoting gender-equality & freedom from violence
Musichana Hamuka (Girl Awakening)
Musichana Hamuka (Girl Awakening) supports girls and young women in an urban, densely populated neighborhood in Goma, DRC, a region plagued by decades of conflict.
In a place where women and girls face constant violence, our flagship program helps them catalyze personal growth and change through evidence-based practices. We work with those who are among the most marginalized, providing a safe, female-only space where they can meet, learn, build solidarity, and develop strategies for social change.
CC is partnering with community stakeholders and the Adolescent Girls’ Community of Practice at the Population Council to deliver this year-round, sustainable project.
Musichana Hamuka (Girl Awakening) is made possible with the generous support of the Advancing Girls Initiative of the Tides Foundation, the Vitol Foundation, the Girls Opportunity Alliance, the Girls Rights Project, Adventures of the Mind Foundation, & the generosity of individual donors have also made Girl Awakening possible.
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Started with local partners in 2020, Girl Awakening is the first program to utilize evidence-based approaches from the Population Council's girl-centered program tools paired with our unique arts-based tools that improve mental health, mitigate trauma, build resilience, and cultivate joy.
We work in one of the most vulnerable communities in Goma, engaging with girls at the critical age of 10-12 to nurture the skills and strong social networks needed for them to support each other, defend their human rights and spark positive social change. Participants learn essential life skills, develop voice and expression, and receive school scholarships. The program helps prepare them to create the lives they want for themselves, ultimately shifting power toward girls and women and improving their lives.
"My daughters don't understand what I tell them to do or give them advice. Espe even had suicidal and rebellious thoughts. She thought she was not loved and often said she was going to kill herself. Since they started attending the program, they understand me, they are motivated, they have found interest and hope in life."
- Mother of participants
“It is since I have been part of this program that I feel so listened to and considered.”
- Rosette, Participant
Spotlight: Girls’ Rights
In the large colorful bubbles spanning this mural are written 14 core human rights regularly violated in girls’ daily lives.
Interspersed are portraits of the participants themselves. During the program the girls were photographed; some of these were made into stencils that were spray painted onto the wall. Smaller colored shapes feature the girls’ handprints.
Among these rights :
The right to education in sexual and reproductive health.
The right to go to school: to a free, quality primary education.
The right to be protected from violence, mistreatment and all forms of abuse and exploitation.
The right to have a family, to be cared for and loved.
Previous Projects We’ve Done
See all murals created with Colors of Connection.
