Muslim Youth Project RFP due Feb 15

Download the application materials.

Dear Community Leader:

Advocates for Youth is pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for community-based, Muslim youth-serving organizations and institutions. Advocates for Youth is a national organization dedicated to creating programs and advocating for policies that help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. Advocates provides information, training, and strategic assistance to youth-serving organizations, policy makers, youth activists, and the media in the United States and the developing world.

In 2006, an estimated 5,259 young people aged 13-24 in the 33 states reporting to CDC were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, representing about 14% of the persons diagnosed that year. Each year, there are approximately 19 million new STD infections, and almost half of them are among youth aged 15 to 24. In 2002, 12% of all pregnancies, or 757,000, occurred among adolescents aged 15-19. Even though public health programs have attempted to address the needs of many marginalized youth communities, the Muslim youth community continues to remain invisible. Muslims constitute a growing segment of the American society with significant percentage consisting of young people who are facing myriad challenges including an immigrant hostile environment, Islamophobia, and a general lack of understanding of what it means to be “Muslim” from the mainstream communities. To address the specific needs of Muslim youth around reproductive and sexual health, Advocates created the Muslim Youth Project. The Muslim Youth Project provides a forum for organizations working with Muslim youth to highlight their voices and bring their experiences to the fore-front.

Through the Muslim Youth Project, your organization may receive strategic capacity building assistance, including publications and materials; written and electronic correspondence; telephone consultations; on-site training; and/or a seed grant in the amount of $5,000 to implement an HIV/STI and teen pregnancy prevention project. Services offered through this initiative are tailored to fit the needs of your organization.

Please download the application materials for more information about this opportunity, including eligibility and criteria for selection. The application form and/or proposal are due by Feb 15, 2011, 5:00 p.m. EST. Please e-mail and/or mail or fax applications to Urooj Arshad, Associate Director, Equity + Social Justice, Advocates for Youth, 2000 M Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036. Fax: (202) 419-1448. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Please call to confirm the receipt of your application.

Working together, we believe that we can strengthen efforts to address the reproductive and sexual health needs of Muslim youth. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with your organization to broaden and increase the positive impact we ALL can achieve in the lives of our youth. If you need further information or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (202) 419-3420 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sincerely,

Urooj Arshad
Associate Director, Equity + Social Justice

Download the application materials.

Almost half of all new STI infections in the United States occur in young people under age 25. Additionally, at the end of 2006, in 45 states with reporting, almost 46,000 young people ages 13-24 were living with HIV, comprising about sixteen percent of all HIV infections. But experts believe young people may suffer from up to 30 percent of all cases of HIV in the United States. Slightly less than half of all new HIV infections in the United States occur in young people under age 25 and even though public health programs have attempted to address the needs of many marginalized youth communities, the Muslim youth community continues to remain invisible. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States and Muslim youth are facing myriad challenges including an immigrant hostile environment, islamophobia and a general lack of understanding of what it means to be “Muslim” from the mainstream communities. To address the specific needs of Muslim youth around reproductive and sexual health, Advocates has lauched the Muslim Youth Project which provides a forum for organizations working with Muslim youth to highlight their voices and bring their experiences to the fore-front.

Through the Muslim Youth Project, organizations receive strategic capacity building assistance, including publications and materials; written and electronic correspondence; telephone consultations; on-site training; and a seed grant in the amount of $4,000 to implement an HIV/STI and teen pregnancy prevention project. Services offered through this initiative are tailored to fit the needs of the specific organizations.

MYP is working with MIC Women’s Health Services based in Queens, NY as its first capacity building partner.

Description of work with MIC Women’s Health Services:  Muslim youth ages 13 to 24 years, in Northwest and West Queens, New York currently face significant unmet reproductive and sexual health needs. Between 1990 and 2000, the largest growth among subgroups in NYC was seen among South Asian communities, with increases of 81% and 79% among Indians & Pakistanis respectively, and almost 500% among Bangladeshis.[i]  According to surveys conducted in the United States, anywhere from 26% to 33% of Muslims in the United States hail from South Asia. [ii] [iii]  Low-income, recent immigrant populations in Northwest and West Queens are more likely to receive little or no reproductive and sexual healthcare, and are at higher risk for HIV, STIs and unintended pregnancies  and this situation is compounded for Muslim youth  due to cultural barriers.

With funding and technical assistance from Advocates for Youth, MIC Women’s Health Services has launched the Muslim Youth Project , a pilot peer education project for Muslim and South Asian youth 13-24 years old in Queens to raise awareness about pregnancy, STI, and HIV prevention  MIC Women’s Health Services has collaborated with 49 Queens-based community organizations, 11 high schools, 3 colleges and 26 mosques throughout New York on reproductive health topics, which also includes family involvement and decision making skills.  Muslim youth are recruited from Queens-based youth organizations and schools to participate in peer-led training and educational programs, supervised and encouraged by program staff. 

Peer-based education has proven a successful method for addressing difficult and sensitive topics among marginalized communities.  The sexual and reproductive health of Muslim youth encompass larger social issues, including bridging the gap between generations and finding one’s voice ‘between the mosque and the street’.  

For additional information about the program, please visit www.healthsolutions.org.

[i] NYC 2000: Results from the 2000 Census. Demographic/Household Characteristics & Asian and Hispanic Subgroups. NYC Dept of City Planning.
[ii] Ihsan Bagby et. al, The American Mosque: A National Portrait. CAIR 2001
[iii] http://www.allied-media.com/AM/index.html

Working together, we believe that we can strengthen efforts to address the reproductive and sexual health needs of Muslim youth. For more information about the Muslim Youth Project, contact Urooj, Associate Director, Equity and Social Justice at (202) 419-3420 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .