YOUTH CHAMPIONS

Miss Inès Hyliarpin Bédhida BAYILI is a student of law school at the university of Ouagadougou and member of ROJALNU-ODD, the United Nations Network of young Leaders for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. She is championing for VAF since November 2016.

Mulula Rose Kunda is a 22 year old Zambian female born in Luanshya, a town in the country’s Copperbelt Province. She is currently in her fourth and final year pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies as her major, with a minor in Business administration at the University of Zambia. The program of study has made her develop a passionfor developmental issues in the economic, social, political and environmental aspects of society and the world at large. In 2015, she did her internship at Bank of Zambia, Regional office in Ndola where she was attached in the Human Resource Department and worked for three months. Currently, she is serving as the treasurer for the University of Zambia Development Studies Association for the 2016/2017 academic year. She is also involved since last year with the VAF initiative in Zambia as a youth champion under the leadership of the VAF country coordinator.

23 year old Salome Nthenya Nzuki holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Gender and Development studies and Sociology from Kenyatta University. Through Youth Accountability and Strategy Network, she has championed for increased meaningful young engagement with the sustainable development goals. She has been involved in sensitizing young people in universities on the global goals and how to hold their respective governments accountable for their implementation. Passionate about transforming the lives of young people through youth friendly policies, she has engaged with different stakeholders in the Kenyan ministries to influence policies that will positively transform the lives of Kenyan youth. Salome believes that everyone in the society needs to take an initiative towards ensuring that the world achieves the global goals. She has taken the gospel down to her rural community. There, she sensitizes women and youth groups on savings, public participation in the county government decision making and access to government procurement opportunities. In her free time she loves to travel. She says, “The SDGs rock!”

Olerato Keegope strongly believes in active citizenship and youth involvement as solutions to the problems faced by the world. She has been an active member of civil society since 2013, and went into it voluntarily because she felt the responsibility to become an active citizen and create impact, no matter how big or small. She has chosen primarily focused on the Post2015 Agenda and SDGs- dealing with issues of leadership, sustainable development and youth & women empowerment: she has had the opportunity to learn, and ultimately impact the local, regional and international community. Olerato is currently a Voice Africa's Future Youth Champion in Botswana. As a member of youth organization, YALDA (Youth Alliance for Leadership& Development in Africa) she served as Assistant Director for 2 years at the University of Botswana branch, and now serves YALDA Botswana and a few other local, regional and international organizations and initiatives. After completing her Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science and English,She went on to work for Young 1ove Org, an evidence based organization that deals with Health and Education programmes for Youth. Olerato also volunteers with the UNFPA to advance Sexual Reproductive Health Rights among the youth of Botswana, and has co-founded a Travel Blog to document the travel experience in Botswana through the eyes of a Motswana Tourist in an effort to promote locals to travel and experience Botswana, and the Southern African region.

Gideon is a young ambitious man with extensive experience in leadership, working with NGO’s and Non Profit Organisations. He is an entrepreneur, Project Management Student, livestock Commercial Farmer, member of Junior Chamber International (JCI), Red Cross Botswana and the Southern Livestock Farmers Network. At only the age of 19 He was already a board member of JCI Jwaneng as the Secretary General, moving up the following year as The Vice President. In 2017 He was voted to be The JCI Kanye Chapter President as well as the Vice Chairman of the Southern Livestock Farmers Network. Through his involvement in community work and JCI he has been to Germany attending The JCI World Congress in Leipzig and has been chosen amongst thousands of applicants for The 6TH University Scholars Leadership Symposium (800 were chosen ) which he attended in Hong Kong, China. He has led community projects aligned with Sustainable Development goals such as The Dare-Eye Care Project, which was a health related project. Through his companies He has done Corporate Social Responsibility projects and has partnered with other companies to do community projects. He enjoys working with other like-minded people to make his country and the world a better place, he believes the only way to do this is through engaging yourself in community projects to create positive change, because if one wants to see change, he/she has to be the change.

Ofilwe is a young International business and public management enthusiast. She is a social entrepreneur with a love for basketball and poetry. She is a final year student at the University of Botswana majoring in International business. Ofilwe is a member of Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA) at the University of Botswana, as their Inter-Governmental Organizations Liaison. She loves contributing her knowledge to help advance projects and enjoys the exposure she gets from it. Ofilwe is a youth champion for sustainable development goal.

Derrick Lukwago is a student at Makerere University Business School, attaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Leadership and Governance. He is Volunteer at BRAC Uganda where he is a Mentor in the Adolescent Health Programme (AHP).Derrick has passion for soccer and Entrepreneurship where he has a dream of creating a large business enterprise in trade and merchandise (wholesale outlets) so that he can provide his fellow young people jobs. He Stands for #Goal16. “i envision a Uganda with peace and security and justice with less bureacracy to create favorable environment for trade and business by 2030”

Micheal is Graduate with a bachelors Degree in Commerce (BCOM) from Makerere university and apparently is an agriprenuer where he owns an agribusiness running a poultry project. He is also a founder of a community based organisation (touch a heart) and this one is in Kisaasi and the organization supports orphans and children out of school to empower them go to school by providing school requirements and also living health lives and this driven by his passion for supporting the disadvantaged. He Stands for #Goal6 “i envision a Uganda with 100% safe water sources by 2030.”

Patrick is Self employed, running a number of small scale business that provide both tangible goods and services. He employes three more young people and his most prominent and income generating ventures are chapati.

Thandiwe is freelance rapporteur who holds an undergraduate bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Botswana . She has been a free-lance rapporteur since her final year studies in 2015 and In this profession she has been engaged by a number of organisations such as Gender Links Botswana in their SADC Gender Protocol endeavour, GALA, Young Women’s Leadership Programme at the University of Botswana. She has been a member of an non-profit organisation called Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA) since her undergraduate days at the university and is now a member of YALDA Botswana where she is team leader for the advocacy team. Thandiwe is actively curious about art and crafts and is a feminist who believes that African Women are flames and the world has only but seen a fraction of what they can do, when in an environment that lets them be. She is an aspiring social entrepreneur and is currently a fellow of the “DO School” Apprenticeship Challenge which is an edition of the Entrepreneurship for Good Program.

Is a volunteer at Brac as a Goal Facilitator where she does training on adolescent health, financial literacy, life skills and sports and through her work she has impacted on over 350 young women’s lives in rural,Periurban and urban areas, Youth Think Tank Researcher of the Mastercard Foundation and Restless Development, Young African Leaders intiative (YALI) alumnus for civic leadership track and Co Founder Youth Rescue Uganda supporting Young people under rights, life skills and education. Kisa has passion for Youth and women empowerment and by 2030 she has a target of impacting positively on over 1000 lives through youth rescue. She stands for #Goal4 coffee stall in kisaasi and making of liquid soap and his immediate neighbors in kikuulu. His Passion is giving back to community and he stands for #Goal6. “i envision a Uganda where all Ugandans will have access to fresh water by 2030, because government is teaching people how to contain water freash water, constructing tanks, and dams in rural areas where there is no access to tap water.”

Is an office assistant at M-sult Engineers and out of school at her O’Level (S.4) and she dreams to go back to school and become a humanitarian journalist who shares welfare stories and act as a voice for the disadvantaged people in the society. And she believes in the coming 2 years she will be enrolled back for school to make her dream come true. She stands for #Goal3 “i envision a Uganda with a very good health system where there are hospitals in the rural areas to majorly reduce on the death to curable diseases.”