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Sun, 12/06/2020 - 05:41
Together we can make a healthy and healthier communities around the world. Yes we can!
Youth-led Acts of Good Campaign Pledges
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Youth from around the world submitted their pledges to commit acts of good during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read on for stories from youth who are contributing to their community, and watch the acts of good highlights video here!
Nandini Tanya Lallmon
“I pledge to create an accessible webinar series.” – Nandini Tanya Lallmon
Nandini Tanya Lallmon is the Advocacy and Communications Liaison at YouthLead. The 29 year-old is also a lawyer by profession, a humanitarian by passion, and during this COVID-19 pandemic, a bridge-builder by necessity. Nandini noted that most webinars for young people in Africa were only conducted in English, which created communication barriers for French and Spanish speakers. Nandini believed that everyone should have a platform to share their thoughts, so she created a webinar series where all three languages are spoken.
The webinar series showcases grassroots activists from around the continent and encourages participants to partner with the featured activist, and with one another. Nandini’s project gives young people in her native Mauritius and across the rest of Africa a forum to voice their concerns, learn from one another, and present their work. So far, her webinars have garnered more than 6,000 views and engaged more than 20,000 people.
Sam Moi
“I pledge to be a servant leader in my community, fight against gender-based violence, and advocate for women's empowerment.” – Sam Moi
Sam Moi’s life mission is to help the poorest of the poor in the Kambia District of Sierra Leone, so he decided to create a neighborhood group to discuss how business development and local advocacy could improve the community. At the first meeting, ninety people showed up and agreed to talk to village heads, law enforcement officials, and other leaders about what the biggest issues in their neighborhoods and ways everyone can work together to solve them.
An issue that Sam focused his community conversations on was how to help women in the community. The 30-year-old says that women should not have to face gender-based violence, income inequality, or lack of educational opportunities. He is currently organizing a series of Kambia District conversations for everyone to cooperate to end the mistreatment of women. Moreover, the talks will highlight local women leaders and give them an opportunity to network with national policymakers so that all of Sierra Leone can work together to solve this issue.
Gerald Katabazi
“I pledge to help young people understand the benefits of agriculture and, more particularly, coffee value chain programs for sustainable developments.”— Gerald Katabazi
year-old learned the COVID-19 virus was spreading she started teaching people how to make their own handwashing soap as well as distributing hand sanitizer to rural communities in Cameroon.
As the pandemic continued, Alhsel noticed that it was impacting women and men differently. Already at a financial disadvantage because of cultural norms, many women in these communities make their money in the informal economy, which slowed because of the pandemic. With a desire to help these women, she created a financial literacy curriculum on how to manage scarce resources. Currently, Alhsel is creating additional programs that will educate others on the danger of drugs and how to help the environment during the pandemic.
Benedicta Gogo
“I pledge to educate my peers about the issue of rape, prisoners’ rights, gender equality, and unemployment. I pledge to help inmates in the various prisons of Ghana go through this pandemic and advocate for better conditions for inmates as well as help reduce recidivism by supporting the Prison Ministry of Ghana as a volunteer in charge of all social media platforms. I pledge to provide a mentorship platform for youth in my country to groom them for leadership in all aspects.”— Benedicta Gogo
Benedicta Gogo noticed that among the many discussion surrounding COVID-19, not many people in her area were talking about the pandemic’s relationship with other societal issues like rape, prisoner rights, gender inequality issues, and unemployment. Benedicta is aware of many of these issues because she is the volunteer social media coordinator for the Prison Ministry of Ghana, where she advocates for the humane treatment of prisoners. A seasoned activist, Benedicta has spread awareness about cervical cancer, called for better public sanitation in her community, and championed the environment in Ghana. The 29-year-old has now pledged to use her skills and experience to educate people about rape, prisoner rights, gender inequality, and unemployment during the pandemic. Benedicta is currently writing articles about the impact of the COVID-19 on these issues in Ghana. She is sharing these articles via her personal social media and through a series of speeches.
Abdulai Kemoh Conteh
I pledge to increasing the access of technology for people around the world, regardless of age, tribe, religion, political affiliation, or anyone’s geographical location, thereby mitigating the gap between skills acquired by students in their course study and the market requirements.” – Abdulia Kemoh Conteh
Technology plays an increasingly important role in the world, but some people do not have access to computers or training. During the pandemic, the disparity has become more evident. Abdulai Kemoh Conteh, a 25-year-old in Sierra Leone, is changing that through IT Specialists Without Borders. Abdulai founded the organization in 2018 to bring market-standard technology education to people regardless of income or location. At his first training session, 100 young people showed up, demonstrating the great need for this type of capacity development.
Abdulai’s next step is to equip schools in Sierra Leone with computer labs and internet connections. IT Specialists Without Borders has a long-term goal of setting up coding camps across the country. Once the coding camps are functional, the organization will begin to establish coding and IT clubs at schools. The coding camps and school clubs facilitate youth leadership, promote the importance of tech education, and provide life skills for young people.
Lennon Takudzwa Mukwekwerere
“I pledge to lead the “A Book For Rural Child” campaign my team at Life Transformation Trust. We will obtain textbooks and donate them to rural schools, since rural children have been totally cut off from school and may not have access to computers for e-learning like their urban counterparts.” — Lennon Takudzwa Mukwekwerere
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many children in Zimbabwe are out of school, but rural children in particular have been totally cut off. Urban schools figured out ways to reach out to their students (e.g., e-learning courses), but rural children are less likely to have access to computers or internet. Lennon Takudzwa Mukwekwerere, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Life Transformation Trust, seeks to bridge this disparity. The 30-year-old and his team started a campaign called “A Book for a Rural Child” to ensure that rural school children have access to hard copies of education textbooks during the lockdown period and beyond.
Life Transformation Trust was founded in February 2019 with the goal of helping young people build learning networks and creative communities. For Lennon and his team, reaching Sustainable Development Goal Number 4: Quality Education is a passion. They quickly understood the impact that the pandemic could have on the progress made in education, so they took action.
Since the campaign began, Lennon and his team have collected 29 new and two second-hand textbooks. Their target is to donate at least four books per subject for ten subjects to two schools in Manicaland Province, for a total of over 80 books. After that, Life Transformation Trust’s goal will be to provide at least four books per subject to every rural school in Zimbabwe. Lennon plans to engage businesspeople, national and international organizations, and community members until they reach that goal.
John Amegboe-Kumah
“I pledge to create NewsAlert, a comprehensive fact-based researched news platform that shares daily news and updates across networks in Ghana and beyond. We will provide health tips, food and nutrition updates, international news, and COVID-19 pandemic panel analysis.”
— John Amegboe-Kumah
Motivated by the belief that it is imperative to fight misinformation, John Amegboe-Kumah, a 23-year-old, started the NewsAlert platform to provide accurate and fact-based news across Ghana and neighboring countries. John is especially concerned that inaccurate information is adversely impacting young people. Armed with a background in journalism from the Young African Leaders Initiative John wants to help his community. With Ghana’s youth as the target audience, the online platform will teach its readers how to access accurate news sources, verify information, and provide data on emerging global trends.
Right now John is working with a team of other young people to launch NewsAlert this August. When the platform launches, they are projecting a reach of 100,000 readers initially, but anticipate that the number will increase quickly. John wants NewsAlert to become a global media organization that always provides accurate information to its audiences.
Aashraya Seth
“I pledge to provide meals to the poor and the underprivileged during this stressful time. I pledge to provide slippers to the migrant laborers who are walking barefoot in my country for hundreds of kilometers just to go back home. And, I pledge to provide to sanitary napkins to the women and girls on the streets.” — Aashraya Seth
Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began, Aashraya Seth noticed that there were hundreds of migrant workers, who did not have much with them, at the train station near his house trying to go home because they had lost their jobs. After talking with them, the 26-year-old found out that oftentimes they would spend 20 or more hours on the train without food or water. Once they reached their destination, they would have to walk many miles to get home, often barefoot. Aashraya also learned that the female migrant workers did not have feminine hygiene products for their travels or when they arrived home
This knowledge inspired the founder of “The Intelligent Indian,” a youth-led non-profit organization, to take action to alleviate this humanitarian disaster. He pledged to deliver food packets, slippers, and sanitary pads to the migrant workers. To date through his organization, he has delivered 450 food packets and slippers to 300 different people and donated 5,000 feminine hygiene products monthly to women in need. They also bring treats for the children.
Aashraya realized that access to feminine hygiene products was not just an issue during the pandemic, so he and his team set up the P-Red group. The group set up pad banks in Lucknow and Barabanki. Pads are being distributed to migrant workers and women in the less-affluent areas of the two cities. So far, P-Red has donated 620 feminine hygiene kits, but the number is increasing daily.
ACTIVITIES