Ikenna Ubaka wanted a formal way to acknowledge the transition her youngest daughter, Zenzele, 9, would be making from childhood to adolescence. So last October, the 42-year-old director of Harambee II, an after-school and teen program in Atlanta, reached out to other local mothers and started a chapter of Sisters of Tomorrow.This rites-of-passage program for girls, founded more than 15 years ago by mothers in East Palo Alto, California, draws on traditions from Tanzania, Ghana and other African cultures to help guide young girls into womanhood. Sisters of Tomorrow tackles subjects ranging from cultural identity and spirituality to sexual responsibility, health and social etiquette. “I wanted my daughter to be prepared to face new challenges,” Ubaka says. “I can’t wait to see how she will live out what she has learned.”
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