When professional photographer Joli Moniz went to live in her ancestral country of Cape Verde, she was struck not only with the beauty of the African island nation, but also with how many young boys seemed at risk.
Like many African countries, Cape Verde struggles to provide opportunities for youth. Young boys especially seem to get caught up in crime at a disproportionate rate, she said. Moniz wanted to give back to the home of her great grandparents — now her home.
So the third-generation Cape Verdean American created Cape Verde For Life, with a childhood friend, Madame-Athena Chang.
Cape Verde For Life aims to help low-income young men help meet their families’ basic needs such as health care and nutrition, as well as guide the families toward self sufficiency so that the young men can focus on their education and future.
Cape Verde For Life is also providing the young men with educational support including incentives for remaining in school, working hard and mentorship.
The new organization is crowdfunding via GoFundMe.com. Cape Verde For Life has applied for non-profit status and is awaiting approval.
AFKInsider: Why did you start Cape Verde For Life?
Joli Moniz: I was raised with an awareness of our responsibility to give back. Both Madame, the co-founder, and I went to an all-girls’ high school, Miss Porter’s (located in Farmington, Conn.), where we were expected to “shape a changing world” and this further enhanced that awareness. After settling into my new life here in Praia (capital of Cape Verde) I felt it was time to contribute to the country that has given me so much, not just this past year but all of my life. A Sunday-afternoon phone conversation with Madame, who a couple of years ago created Jamaica For Life to help out her home community in Manchester, Jamaica, sparked the idea to begin a new program, Cape Verde for Life.
AFK Insider: Why focus on young boys?
Joli Moniz: Just like back home in the States, in Cape Verde it is the boys who seem to get caught up in crime at a disproportionate rate. In communities around the world it is the boys, especially the black boys, we are losing at lightning speed. It is almost as if they are an endangered species. While we have always known this, I suppose the recent Trayvon Martin tragedy served as a grim reminder that more needs to be done to save the black men of the future.
AFKInsider: What are the immediate goals of the organization?
Joli Moniz: At first, we would like to raise enough money to be able to assist a handful of families… However, it is our sincere hope that the program grows enough to be able to help many more families. We are also adamant about finding partners such as mentors and pro bono tutors to further prepare the boys for bright futures.
AFK Insider: What are the long-term goals of the organization?
Joli Moniz: Cape Verde for Life is one of three similar programs under the For Life, Inc. umbrella. I sit on the board of For Life. Eventually, we would love to see For Life have a much larger global presence – specifically throughout Africa and the Caribbean.
AFK Insider: Why did you go the crowdfunding route?
Joli Moniz: Since For Life, Inc. is in the process of getting its 501(c)(3) status and we are unable to apply for grants at this time, crowdfunding was the best way to reach a wider audience with low cost. It is an inexpensive marketing tool and in the beginning when you are operating without a budget, this is an effective route to take. Madame knows individuals who have been successful with crowdfunding.
AFK Insider: What are your fundraising goals?
Joli Moniz: Our immediate goal is to raise $10,000. However, in order to sustain the program long term and to reach more boys and their families, we must raise much more.
AFK Insider: Why is it important for Americans and Cape Verdean Americans to invest in the children of Cape Verde?
Joli Moniz: It is important to invest in children in every corner of the world, for they are the future, literally. Cape Verde is of specific interest to me because of my heritage. There are many Cape Verdeans in America – more than in Cape Verde itself – and they too should be invested in the welfare of their home’s future. We are and always have been a small, tight-knit diasporic community. It is vital to maintain that interconnectedness. But even Americans who are not of Cape Verdean descent should care about the lives and futures of children in Cape Verde – in keeping them off the streets and away from crime. Cape Verde’s geostrategic location at the intersection of the Americas, Europe and mainland Africa makes it both prime and vulnerable to increased drug trade. An escalation in drug trafficking and thus crime poses a risk to the safety of all of our countries.
AFK Insider: What made you come to live in Cape Verde?
Joli Moniz: I am a third-generation Cape Verdean American. My great grandparents on both sides emigrated from Cape Verde during a horrible period of drought and subsequent famine, so they left just to survive. My grandparents were the last generation to speak Kriolu. However, my parents raised me with a tremendous pride in our heritage and brought my sisters and me back at a young age. Still, without the language there was always a slight disconnect. I had fallen in love with Cape Verde from that very first trip and always dreamed of returning here for good and learning to “papia Kriolu.” I am still getting there!
AFK Insider: What has been one of your biggest revelations being an American moving to Africa? To Cape Verde?
Joli Moniz: In the States we spend so much of our days, of our lives working and feeling tired and stressed. As my dad always says, Americans live to work. Here in Cape Verde, as in much of the world, people understand that you work to live. And here there is more time and energy to enjoy the beauty in everyday life. You can spend quality time with family and friends; you can stop to have a real conversation with a neighbor or colleague; you have time to connect with and care about people. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what really matters most?
