LEAP Africa, Dow engages 5000 youth to transform communities in 34 African countries

LEAP Africa in partnership with Dow and other technicals recently concluded the third edition of the Pan African youth-led social impact campaign – Youth Day of Service (YDoS) 2022- across various African communities.

The week-long campaign with the theme ‘Youthful and Useful’, kicked off with a pre-event press briefing in Lagos before the programme commenced on Friday, Saturday, August 22 to August 18, 2022.

During its activation, youth across the continent came out in large numbers to accentuate the strength and possibilities of their agency in actualising a sustainable future through volunteerism and community service. With much confidence and unity of purpose, every young person who participated in the initiative had one sentence to convey their message, “We are Youthful and Useful”.

Through a partnership with Dow Africa – as a headline sponsor – LEAP Africa was able to mobilise over 5,000 young people across 34 African countries to champion and implement projects, including tree planting, school painting, food drives, beach cleaning, digital sensitisation, medical outreach, and prison outreach, among others.

The projects led by individuals, corporations, and public and social sector organisations were aligned with the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).

Managing Director, Dow Northern and Western Africa, and Chair of Dow Africa Steering Committee, Sami Mainich, said: “Dow recognizes that the future is created by what is done today through empowerment, collaboration, and deliberate investments in the communities we live and work in.

“As global citizens, we believe in dedicating our time and talents to challenges and opportunities that connect science, people, and community across the globe to achieve our envisioned world built on human creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. This is achievable only when the youth are empowered to realise their full potential.

“As such, we partnered with Leap Africa on the Youth Day of Service campaign, to develop and support solutions that spark positive change and build resilient sustainable communities.”

In the same vein, Acting Executive Director, LEAP Africa, Kehinde Ayeni, said, “LEAP Africa is committed to supporting and nurturing the agency of young people across the continent with skills and tools to enable them to become transformative leaders in their sphere of influence. The Youth Day of Service provides an enormous opportunity to engage the hands and hearts of individuals, the third sector, and public and private stakeholders to actualize the SDGs.

“Our partnership with Dow in this year’s edition supported our vision to sustain our wide reach on the continent.”

At the end of the week-long project implementation, about 620 projects and over 5000 volunteers were registered via a dedicated portal from 34 participating African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Mali, Niger, Madagascar, Ghana, The Gambia, Cameroon, Uganda, South Sudan, and South Africa.

The purpose of the Youth Day of Service campaign continues long after the annual celebration of International Youth Day. There are so many ways to continue participation as an organisation or an individual. You can initiate a project, sponsor or fund a project, or volunteer for an existing project either as an individual or staff of an organisation.