Voary Antenaina Velonjara

Voary Antenaina Velonjara is a medical doctor with over eleven years’ experience in youth development. Currently, Voary Antenaina Velonjara is a coordinator at IZA, a nonprofit organization, which she founded in 2015 to fight against youth drug addiction through art. The organization performs musicals, street shows, and movies. She employs her creativity, in designing the choreography and costumes. She also composes songs, writes musical theatre pieces and scripts, and directs shows and movies. Voary educates and counsels students to avoid addictive substances. She has a signed agreement between IZA and the Ministry of Education, establishing anti-drug programming in public high schools in her city. She also responds to questions from all over the country during a monthly national radio program. Voary is committed to reducing drug abuse and reintegrating youth with drug problems back into society. Upon completion of Mandela Washington Fellowship(Africa), Voary plans to build a social and cultural center, where youth in her community can receive counseling and express themselves through art.