We are excited to announce that YAI has fine-tuned its mission to focus exclusively on digital literacy for young people in post war African countries. We will also work diligently to implement special programs geared at encouraging the participation of young women in ICT.
Since 2006, YAI’s programs have benefited more than half a million people in Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda. Past successful programs have included establishing computer training centers, vocational training centers and building high schools. We have also run several initiatives including an early childhood education initiative, providing access to clean water for communities and Ebola and Covid-19 relief activities.
We are excited about the new direction we are taking. It gives us a very clear, measurable, and attainable goal to provide a computer lab for every high school in Liberia and Sierra Leone. This is both an urgent and immediate need because tens of thousands of young people in both countries lack this very important and basic skill.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that less than 5% of students in Liberia and Sierra Leone have basic computer skills. This means that thousands of them are ineligible for jobs and advancement opportunities that could help them break out of cycles of extreme poverty. Together, we can turn this around and significantly change those dismal statistics within five years.
You can support our new mission by donating, volunteering with us in Africa, or hosting a fundraiser. YAI remains a registered 501(c)3 organization in the United States and is an accredited non-governmental organization with the governments of Liberia and Sierra Leone.
