Though Asante Africa Foundation’s LEI Program works in helping young adults carve their way in the professional world, it is just the first step towards achieving a bigger goal — the goal of impacting 1 Million lives by 2020. The program creates a ripple effect, where each LEI participant shares the knowledge they learn with their peers, friends, families, and local communities to create a more meaningful impact beyond the classroom. Sustainable change is an important proof of our success, and it’s the youth themselves that allow us to achieve it.
To date, the 700 participants that have completed the LEI Program have been able to educate 125,000 people through leadership clubs, community organizations, and even a youth operated radio program. These are 125,000 people that didn’t attend an Asante Africa program, but were provided information by participants, allowing the knowledge to extend and benefit hundreds of communities.
The Stories — 2 of many!
Each LEI participant is chosen for their potential to do more, and so far none of the graduates have failed to deliver. There might not be a better feeling than seeing these young adults take their place as leaders, entrepreneurs, and problem solvers in their own communities.
Baraka Baldiga from Tanzania has continuously been paying it forward. He first taught 6 friends about dream mapping, and those friends went on to teach young students in a local school to believe in their dreams and to create a plan to achieve them. During his secondyear in the LEI program, Baraka convinced 20 of his peers to donate their time and energy at a district hospital, where they were mentored by a local doctor. They learned about being a medical
professional and its challenges. He has also created a Leadership Club at his high school and proudly serves in the military now. He says “I would like to thank Asante Africa Foundation for transforming my mind. Now I can be a part of my society by educating my fellow students, my friends, my society and my country”.
TOP IMAGE * Students of Baraka’s Leadership Club, created through his Pay it Forward initiative
BOTTOM IMAGE* Baraka’s peers volunteering at a hospital!
Sylviah is another example of how young participants of the LEI Program are creating continuous change in their communities. She is an Asante Africa scholar whose dream of becoming a teacher led her to volunteer in a primary school. After attending the program, she gathered her friends to help her start their own LEI Program to teach young girls about the importance of having a dream and achieving it. She taught them to know, understand, and respect their bodies, and how to seek help if they were being pressured into any wrongdoing. She says “I called the young girls to come and discuss some issues for them and to dream despite the fact of their poor background”.
She approached her family and community to help her, and with their help was able to gather 65 girls for the first annual Nchaishi Young Women’s Leadership Training. Sylviah helps the young girls to set goals so that they may have a brighter future.
Check out the inspiring interview with Sylviah below.
Sylviah and Baraka are just two of the many examples of LEI students, who are role models for thousands of others. Believing in the LEI Program and its impact, Social Capital Foundation partnered with Asante Africa Foundation for the LEI Match, where they will match every donation 1:1, till August 31’2016.
You too can be a part of this change.
