The JayNii Streetwise Organisation is a social enterprise founded in 2007 that aims to provide street children in the impoverished area of Jamestown, in downtown Accra (Ghana), with the tools and education necessary to create long-term opportunities. JayNii’s uniqueness lies in its innovative model, which aims to leverage street children’s creativity and skills through dance and music, in order to generate revenue that is then used to provide these children with access to education, food and shelter. So far 50 children between the ages of 9 and 14, most orphans or single-parent children, are enrolled in the Streetwise program. These children receive training in Afro-jazz and traditional Ghanaian dance and music and join the JayNii International Band, a band which performs in concerts around Ghana and internationally. The band’s concert and performance revenue and donations are used to enrol the children in school (fees, uniform and textbooks) and pay for daily living (food, shelter and medicine), therefore creating a sustainable and innovative model which uses the children’s own creativity and inherent potential to build skills and access an education they couldn’t otherwise afford.

Problem

JayNii aims to help street children in the area of Jamestown. Located in downtown Accra, Jamestown has long been one of the city’s most deprived and marginalised communities. Despite successive government revitalisation attempts, the area remains highly dependent on fishing for income, with no alternative sources of income during the lean season. The cost of this is borne by local children. Unable to afford education, and with youth unemployment levels at consistently high levels, children are forced to fend for themselves through the hawking of goods and begging on the streets of Jamestown. Such a lack of empowerment and opportunity means that young children in entire communities find themselves blocked in a continuous poverty trap, one that JayNii aims to counteract.

Solution

JayNii was born in 2007 with the aim of counteracting this poverty trap, by providing street children with, in addition to food and shelter, the tools necessary to create long-term opportunities, namely education and skills. Despite the poverty and deprivation afflicting the area, Jamestown holds enormous potential in terms of cultural and creative wealth. JayNii aims to leverage this. Children who join the project (so far, 50 – between the ages of 9 and 14) receive professional training in Afro-jazz and traditional Ghanaian dance and music and join the JayNii International Band. The band provides the foundation with a source of revenue – through its many concerts and performances at functions and festivals locally, nationally and at an international scale. The children are also trained in giving drumming and dance lessons, therefore creating a further income stream. Such revenue is then used to fund school fees (primary and secondary school), uniforms and textbooks, therefore providing street children with an education they wouldn’t otherwise afford, and to pay for daily expenses (food, shelter, medicine). The funds are further invested in providing the children with lifelong skills, through music, sport, extra classes and a variety of extra curricular activities. One of the organisation’s motto’s, ‘Out of the Streets and into School’, sums the mission up: using the musical creativity and cultural potential inherent in the area to provide local children with education and op

Exemple

The strength of JayNii’s model lies in its sustainability and innovativeness. Previous models that attempted to provide street children with education have relied on donations and aid, an often-volatile combination. JayNii’s ability to leverage the children’s musical talent, on the other hand, offers enormous potential. It allows children to use their creativity in shaping their future. It empowers them and creates a positive cycle whereby every child can contribute towards the foundation’s growth. It also forms a stable source of income that is based on potential rather than external aid. The story of Laate, a 12-year-old boy currently in the Streetwise project, shows the model’s potential in practice. Born in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of Jamestown, Laate was abandoned at the age of 3 by his parents who could no longer afford to take care of him. He was left in the hands of his great grandmother, who made a living selling cassava on the street. Unable to afford education and with his great grandmother getting increasingly ill at the age of 81, Laate was one of the first children to join the Streetwise program. Joining the program has provided Laate with food and shelter, and allowed him to begin his studies at Jamestown’s Junior High School. Everyday after school he practices with the JayNii International Band, being one of its lead singers, and gives singing lessons to tourists and visitors. Laate’s story shows the impact and huge potential of the foundations model – a child with a previously bleak future who grew up in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Accra has now been provided with a means of not only leveraging his skills and potential, but also with an education and opportunity that would seem impossible only a few years ago. The challenge is now to grow and perfection this model to change the lives of an ever-increasing number of children in Jamestown.

Marché

JayNii’s potential market is enormous. Very few foundations helping street children in the area exist, close to none with a sustainable social enterprise model. Yet the number of children needing help is significant, and ever growing. Although competition is therefore not currently a concern, many other challenges remain: in order to enrol more children in the program the foundation must expand its musical reach (increased concerts, visibility etc.), diversify its sources of revenue (the foundation is currently investing in creating a textile brand), and increase its local partnerships. It also faces daily challenges such as the availability of food and electricity. Challenges inevitably exist, but the model’s potential offers hope of overcoming them.