Youth Action International is a non-governmental organization that uses grassroots techniques to develop and implement programs that help alleviate the suffering of children affected by war or living in difficult circumstances, empower them to reach their full potential, and break cycles of violence and poverty.
Read the YAI 2008 Annual Report: Empowering Africa (pdf)
The Kids with Sole raised over $2,000 in support of YAI at their Steps in the Right Direction fundraiser last weekend. In spite of freezing weather, dozens of students at Rye Neck High School in New York gathered on January 10th to walk 1 mile and raise money for YAI. Congratulations and thank you to the Kids with Sole! For a wonderful article about the Kids with Sole, click here.
Thanks to Kids with Sole, Youth Action International staff in Liberia have been delivering thousands shoes to residents in Monrovia for the past two weeks. The donation has created enthusiasm in the community, and crowds of people gathered to receive a pair of tennis shoes. This news comes in advance of the Kids with Sole “Steps in the Right Direction” fundraiser to be held January 10th in Mamaroneck, New York. The fundraiser will be a walk-a-thon, with proceeds benefitting YAI.
One year ago, the Kids with Sole, a Rye Neck High School chapter of Youth Action International located in Mamaroneck, New York, asked Kimmie Weeks what they could contribute to children in post-war Liberia. He answered with one simple word, “Sneakers! In response, Kaila Pedersen, now in the 12th grade, formed Kids with Sole, an intergenerational project that worked with both young people and adults to collect sneakers for impoverished Liberian children. Kaila explains, “Sneakers are important sanitation barriers that stop the spread of disease, prevent injuries and provide structural support for growing children.” Following Kimmie’s philosophy that promotes youth leadership, Kids with Sole members began shoe collection campaigns throughout their community. “We have had a great experience, but we still need more sneakers – because our ultimate goal is 10,000 pairs,” says Kaila, adding, “Every pair counts.”
YAI has joined the challenge through Chase Community Giving on Facebook. The non-profit organization that receives the most votes will win $1,000,000 and several others will win $25,000! If YAI wins, it will use these funds to continue its rebuilding of post-war African communities. Please take a few minutes to vote for YAI by clicking the icon above. Each voter can vote for many organizations, so hurry and login now to cast your vote for YAI. We need you!
This month, YAI will launch a revolutionary pilot program intended to enhance education and literacy for children in Monrovia from birth to 8 years-of-age. The program started when Mother Goose Time, a U.S.-based company that provides preschool curriculum in monthly themed kits aimed at nurturing children’s emotional, physical and intellectual growth, began donating thousands of educational kits to YAI as a first start in improving Liberia’s early education program. Now, Mother Goose Time is coupling the materials with a teacher training program.
“Initially, we expect to train and mobilize 200 teachers who will in turn, educate over 8,000 students,” said Leslie Falconer, CEO of Mother Goose Time. “Once the pilot is successful, our intent is to capacitate all of the teachers in Liberia and begin transferring what we have learned to other countries with children in need.” Although education was declared free and compulsory in the country in 2007, there is a short supply of trained teachers. The pilot project helps solve the pressing need quickly by setting up peer-to-peer training and support among Liberian teachers.
The Mother Goose Time program addresses the reality of post-war countries by increasing the education of young children and decreasing the likelihood that these children will be easily enlisted in future rebellion.
CNN International’s African Voices profile of YAI Executive Director, Kimmie Weeks is available online. African Voices is a weekly 30-minute show that highlights the life and work of a range of people from across Africa. Individuals already profiled include the president of Botswana, Ian Khama, as well as Kofi Annan. With a viewing audience of over 200 million people in 250 countries, CNN International reaches a wide spectrum of society. Watch the profile of Kimmie Weeks below, or visit http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/africanvoices/ for more info.
Kimmie Weeks tells Jerome about the work his organization is doing in Liberia and across the African continent. He survived the Liberian civil war and has dedicated his life to children’s rights. To listen to the interview go to:
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Program_wv.aspx?episode=37254
I’ve been thinking about what to write since I came back from Liberia. I am from Spain and English is my fourth language – I also speak Spanish, Italian, and Catalan. So as you can imagine, it took me forever to put all my thoughts in order in English.
My name is Esther Rodriguez-Brown. My husband, Michael, and I are the founders of The Embracing Project, a non profit organization we created to educate inner city youth about the similarities between genocide and gang activity. One purpose of this journey is to expose inner city youth to the experiences of children soldiers in different parts of the world and then to create a pen-pal relationship between both groups.
YAI’s current Country Representative in Sierra Leone, Yeanoh Conteh, is leaving after several years of dedicated service to YAI, to pursue her Master’s Degree. Her successor will be Donald Kalokah, who previously served as Program Officer for in Sierra Leone. Congratulations to Donald and good luck to Yeanoh on her new adventure!
CNN International has completed its profile of Kimmie Weeks to be featured on CNN’s African Voices. African Voices is a 30 minute weekly show that highlights the life and work of a range of people from across Africa. Individuals already profiled include the president of Botswana, Ian Khama, as well as Kofi Annan. With a viewing audience of over 200 million people in 250 countries, CNN International reaches a wide spectrum of society. In a letter to Kimmie Weeks, CNN producers stated that they selected him for a profile because of his “outstanding story” and “exceptional humanitarian work”. For more information go to http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/africanvoices/
The Hour Hands Campaign is a global initiative to reclaim the horrific and brutal hours that the people of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda spent in the midst of civil war. These wars lasted generations – the entire lifetimes of a generation of young people.
Through the Hour Hands Campaign, YAI is trying to raise $150,000 by December 24th. This date marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Liberian civil war. Let’s put HOUR HANDS together and reclaim the hours lost to the ravages of war. Donate the value of an hour of your time to reclaim an hour lost to civil war, or join our efforts by fundraising on behalf of YAI. For more info, click the Hour Hands Campaign link on the left.
On June 15th, the Chase Community Giving will begin. Voters will be able to use their facebook accounts to determine which organizations will win one of the many cash prizes.
Our ability to win this money to help us continue our work in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Uganda depends on your vote. So please take a moment to click the VOTE NOW link, login to your facebook account and vote for us.
I’ve been thinking about what to write since I came back from Liberia. I am from Spain and English is my fourth language – I also speak Spanish, Italian, and Catalan. So as you can imagine, it took me forever to put all my thoughts in order in English.
My name is Esther Rodriguez-Brown. My husband, Michael, and I are the founders of The Embracing Project, a non profit organization we created to educate inner city youth about the similarities between genocide and gang activity. One purpose of this journey is to expose inner city youth to the experiences of children soldiers in different parts of the world and then to create a pen-pal relationship between both groups.
Every year, Kimmie Weeks embarks on a nationwide speaking tour to motivate young people to become pioneers of change. To date, thousands of students have heard his message and many of them have gone on to start their own humanitarian organizations or have joined other change-making programs.
Contact Natsumi Ajiki: natsumi @ peaceforkids.org
“What have I gotten myself into?”
This is a question that has come up many times on my journey to Africa.
I suppose to clarify, and so as not to sound like a cynic, I should explain a little bit about myself. I’ve been a photographer for two and a half years now. When I first picked up a camera the only thought that went through my head was “Awesome, now I have a big chunk of metal, plastic and glass that will allow me to take clearer photos and I’ll soon be rich and famous as a result of having this camera!”
This was not the case as I am neither rich, nor famous (side from my own delusions of grandeur.) Anyways all of that is beside the point. If someone had told me the day that I picked up that camera that it would eventually lead me to post war West Africa, I would have laughed in their faces. Not because traveling to West Africa is a crazy idea, but simply because I did not see myself ever getting past the stage of “hobbyist” photography.
And yet, here I sit, in Sierra Leone, thousands of miles from home (6168 miles approximately) volunteering as the photographer for Youth Action International.
Now in regards to Africa, particularly Sierra Leone and Liberia, I don’t think that anything could have really prepared me for what I would experience here. This is including Kimmie’s ‘worst case scenario’ description of Liberia.
I wish I had been more diligent about documenting my experiences and reactions in Liberia, but I seemed to always put off the act of writing. I always told myself I was too tired or busy, but the truth is that I had a very difficult time reflecting on the barrage of experiences at the time. Throughout my time in Africa, I realized that I did not once shed a tear. It was only once I was on the plane from Accra to New York, on my way back to my privileged and comfortable life, that I was able to absorb the memories and the pictures that I was taking with me. As I looked through the pictures I had taken on my camera, I cried for a half an hour straight. I cried thinking about the hopeful faces on the small children at Temas Orphanage that I was leaving. I cried for young people of Grand Bassa County who do not have the opportunity to go to school. I cried because I realized that my life would be changed forever and I cried because I felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
A cross-section of observers, traditional and religious leaders, local and international media stormed Ri-Kwangba last week to witness the historical moment were Joseph Kony, the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) leader was supposed to sign the final peace agreement. The rest of the world held its breath to witness the day that northern Uganda would finally get to normalcy after 20 years of conflict between the Government of Uganda and the LRA rebels.
“Aren’t you nervous?” my dear friend carefully asked me when I told her that I’d be visiting Uganda. That’s how my parents reacted at first. I told myself it is not because Uganda is part of Africa that they are worried for my travel. Traveling to new places is always uncertain to some extent. However, I couldn’t deny that part of me was more worried than usual. What would I see? How would I feel? What should I expect? Am I mature enough? Above all, the question was ‘why would I want to go visit Africa’? I cannot tell Uganda story leaving out the influence of Kimmie and Youth Action International. I actually met Kimmie at Northfield Mount Hermon High School where Kimmie graduated from.
The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), an Acholi-based opposition group led by Joseph Kony has been fighting first against president Museveni’s government, and currently against other Acholi peoples. The Acholi are an ethnic group who live in Northern Uganda. Though Kony, leader of the LRA reportedly believes he has been chosen by God to overthrow president Museveni and establish a government based on the Ten Commandments, and a purified Acholi race, the LRA has yet to explain its goals or put forth any sort of political agenda.
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I wasn’t promised an African sunset. When Kimmie Weeks invited me on a humanitarian mission through post-conflict countries, what came to mind were the stunning landscape pictures my friends had brought back from the ranch in Kenya. It was how I had envisioned this beautiful continent. Streaks of red and orange, firing up the night sky of deep blue and purple: a kaleidoscope of color. Instead, I found another kind of sunset. I found the African people wasting away, dying brutal, horrific deaths at the hands of war, disease, and poverty. I found the sun setting on their lives. Not fading into the night with brilliant lights, but being shredded into a nonexistence wracked with pain and suffering. Continue reading
I traveled to Liberia and Sierra Leone with Kimmie Weeks during the summer of 2006 to assist him and carry out research for YAI. I am originally from Tanzania and was excited to visit west Africa. I was confident I would adjust to Sierra Leone pretty quickly, because hey, it was still Africa wasn’t it? And I’m half African. Continue reading
