![AjA_Asha_Age17_Kenya_sm[5] copy](http://speakcityheights.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/AjA_Asha_Age17_Kenya_sm5-copy.jpg)
Asha, 17, took this photo during an AjA Project class. The AjA Project helps refugees like Asha and other youth explore their identities and communities through photography.
By Julia Richardson
City Heights nonprofit The AjA Project was recommended by the National Endowment for the Arts to receive funding for its PhotoCity program. The NEA awarded 1,083 grants totaling $25.8 million to organizations and individuals across the country for projects in the categories of Art Works, Challenge America, and Creative Writing Fellowships. Thanks to the NEA, AjA will be able to expand our current after school program, PhotoCity, which uses photography as a platform for youth to initiate social change.