Youth Empowerment and Support Initiative-Malawi

How can we help young people reach their full potential? So many young people in Africa grow up with hopes and dreams for the future, but few reach everything they aspire toward. Many people grow up in communities, and sometimes even families, that prevent them from achieving these aspirations. What can be done about it? Are there any stories from those who have overcome just such obstacles to help others achieve a better future? SDG 4 focuses on education and aims to tackle just such an issue- by providing the resources for young people to reach their full potential. This is no simple task and will require support from organizations and communities across the world. Luckily, a group of young people came together with an aspiration to bridge this gap for a better and more sustainable future. YES Initiative was founded in March 2017 by a group of young volunteers to mitigate some of the challenges, through students’ sponsorships, mentorship, and skills development, and the employment of participatory strategies of disseminating, educating, and informing the community on issues that affect the youth and the society in general. Observing the passive social roles that affect youths and hamper their growth and ability to achieve their potential, YES-Initiative envisages a world that has no scope for gender discrimination, where youths have equal access to opportunities and availability of resources for growth and can participate equally in social and community life. Strategic Objectives

1. Promote access to quality education among young people as a vehicle for improved livelihoods.
2. Provide vocational, entrepreneurial, and life-skills training to young people as a way of empowering them to be self-reliant
3. Provide mentorship and guidance to secondary students to enable them to realize their dreams.
4. Impart knowledge and skills to guide young people’s development as professionals, community leaders, and parents
5. Increase capacity of YES Initiative volunteers and staff in facilitation, presentation, communication, and program design and implementation.
6. Promote interaction and networking amongst young people of diverse backgrounds to enable the free sharing of ideas and innovations.
7. Provide a platform for young people to be able to freely discuss problems affecting their day-to-day lives.
8. Provide young people with soft skills critical for acquiring employment and excelling in the workplace.