Top 10 Highlights from 2022 ~ Partnerships are Accelerating Progress
2022 was a testament to what happens when youth become empowered to change their communities. As our students receive critical 21st-century skills, launch businesses, and use their voice to advocate for change, we are confident that our youth are leading the way into the future.
Our partnerships are also accelerating progress; County and district officials, collaborative partners, and co-funders willing to take risks on new ideas enable us to embrace extraordinary innovations that impact East Africa’s youth, resulting in life-changing impact.
We are honored to be one of five organizations, 7000 applicants across 122 countries, to win the 2023 King Hamad Youth Empowerment Award to Achieve SDGs in the “Recognizing Enablers of Youth Participation, Action & Impact” category for outstanding work through our Digital Transformation Initiative.
By providing digital learning through hands-on training in the most remote communities of East Africa, our Accelerated Learning Program has reached more than 6,500 students and 600 educators across 129 schools in the past year alone. READ MORE
Through a new partnership with Stanbic Bank Foundation, affordable financing and mentorship is now available for youth to grow their local businesses. In this first cohort, we have 9 youth who have qualified for a loan and are eager to get started.
“With this partnership, we have a path forward for our young people across all our countries to receive small loans to grow their businesses. We are excited because loan management for youth is Stanbic Bank’s expertise and we can be the pipeline feeder with our youth, which is our expertise.” – Erna Grasz
Stay tuned for more information about this exciting partnership in January 2023
The 2022 Young Scientists Kenya Award was won by Margaret and Roina, two Youth Livelihood Program student mentors from Kenya’s Wamba Girls Secondary School, for their STEM project in Water Purification.
As these two young women create sustainable living in their community, we look forward to sharing many more stories of female participation in science, which is essential in tackling major global issues, in 2023. WATCH THE VIDEO or READ THE STORY
Asante Africa Uganda was recognized at the Uganda national level by participating in the Western Regional Girl Summit organized by Girls not Brides, a global alliance to end teenage marriages, pregnancy and advance girl rights. The theme this year was “children need a society free from child marriage and teenage pregnancy.”
Three of our students took center stage by sharing their testimonies on how they survived child marriage and shared their opinions on how girls’ rights should and can be protected in order to achieve their dreams. VIEW THE PHOTOS
Using his leadership skills learned through our Youth Livelihood Program in Kenya, Nicholas Lenyasunya crosses borders to pay it forward in Ethiopia. Nicholas’s passion for teaching coupled with his passion for advocating for youth to stay in school won him an award for advocating for peace and development in Ethiopia. READ HIS STORY
“It is time to trust youth in leadership to raise solutions to challenges locally, nationally, and internationally. I thank Asante Africa Foundation for their Youth Livelihood Program because it strengthened my leadership skills.”
To reach the most remote schools in Samburu, Turkana, Marsabit, and Narok, we are partnering with the Government of Kenya to maximize the use of valuable digital equipment.
In 2022, Asante Africa Kenya facilitated the training of 470 educators, and 2,631 students on digital learning across 65 schools. READ MORE
Asha Itwanga, a 2017 Leadership and Entrepreneurship Incubator alumnae, is now an East Africa Youth Representative for her University Parliament. READ ASHA’S STORY
“Based on the leadership skills acquired through the Youth Livelihood Program, I am now a university student with competent leadership skills. I serve as a member of the Tanzania Youth Parliament with the aim of learning and preparing for the future. Thank you so much; without you, I don’t know what my future would have looked like.”
In the midst of the longest COVID-19 lockdown in the world, Asante Africa Uganda proved to be resilient through Community Learning Groups. 2022 shows us that these groups are healing the trauma of the lockdown by enabling youth with skills, knowledge, and the launching of new businesses.
One example of this innovation comes from the Nyarukoma Community Learning Group, where students used their business skills to create a piggery project aimed at improving the breed of pigs in their community and creating an income to benefit their families. READ MORE STUDENT PROJECTS
Through our Bridge the Gap initiative, Asante Africa Tanzania reaches the lowest performing schools in the country. This year, students enrolled in the project from Wezesha Vijana Program. Through this 11- week immersion program, our team prepared graduating 7th graders for high school as secondary school peers mentored them with innovative teaching methods for math, science, English, and digital literacy. VIEW THE PHOTOS
Paul Mwiti, Director of Global Finance and Administration, Kenya, attended The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2022 in July. Spending five days in Rwanda with our partners Prince’s Trust International (PTI), Paul participated in lesson-sharing with other PTI partner organizations from around the Commonwealth, interviewed with BBC News Africa, and even met King Charles III. READ MORE
Paul reflects on his trip, “It’s humbling that we had the opportunity to interview on BBC News Africa and meet [the then] His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. But our real reason for going to Rwanda was to build upon and further our work of impacting the next generation of change agents.”
ASANTE SANA (Thank you) for making 2022 a great year!
We could not have accomplished all of this without people like YOU!