What is YARAC?

YARAC is an acronym for Youth Adolescent Reflection and Action Centre.
This name emerged from a workshop to conclude a three year project with youth and adolescents regarding their reproductive rights and behaviour. The project titled ‘HAD I KNOWN’ (helping adolescents off the road to…) was a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grant for leadership development in Nigeria.
YARAC came into being in 1999 to maintain and continue with the gains, the contacts and awareness that the project had created among the target beneficiaries, teachers, parents, religious bodies and other relevant organizations engaged with youth and adolescent reproductive matters.
During the 3-year period of working with adolescents and specifically with the in-school and out-of-school groups, a large amount of traumatizing information was gathered in order to disseminate the results of the findings, a kind of flexible and appealing methodology was employed.
A multimedia approach where drama, music and video on adolescent reproductive health were packaged and taken to not less than 150 schools, public and religious institutions, conferences and meetings of Parents Teachers Assoosciations to create awareness and stimulate dialogue around issues of adolescent reproductive health.
YARAC is a non-profit organization established to provide opportunities for youth and adolescents to interact, discover the realities and challenges surrounding their growth, gain knowledge about their civic responsibilities and build their confidence to make responsive and informed descisions as they grow.