Impact Stories & Blogs

A story about our alumnus Eric Muthomi, Kenya, Cohort 1, Business & Entrepreneurship   With the desire to use smart business decisions to break the cycle of poverty among smallholder farmers and to feed Kenyan families with nutritious foods, Eric Muthomi started Stawi Foods and Fruits Limited in 2012. Stawi Foods and Fruits Limited is an agro-processing company based in Nairobi, Kenya. It secured early-stage venture capital from Golden Palm Investment Corporation to grow the business. The business empowers women and youth. Stawi Foods began its flour processing business by processing ...

Story featuring the work done by the YALI RLC EA Alumni Chapter of the Republic of Congo Seated under a tree, away from the scorching sun, several alumni gathered at a local hotel, in a wooden structure that was popular with locals around the area. The alumni, adorned in YALI RLC EA t-shirts, were chatting animatedly. Three of us from the Center joined them to witness, first hand, activities alumni carry out on the ground. The sun was towering above our heads. Sweat trickled down some of us and you would often catch one of us wiping it off. It was going to be an exciting day as we were about...

Melatwork Tibebu Mengesha, Ethiopia, Cohort 33, Public Management    Her cry filled the room when she was born announcing her arrival to the World. Piercing and yet a golden moment. Her mother named her Melatwork Tibebu. Worq means gold in Amharic but she prefers to spell it as Work because of her love for work hence Melatwork. Melatwork has a presence. Not intimidating, but one where you want to know who she is. She has a welcoming demeanour about her which comes in handy in her day to day activities. When we arrived at the Col. John C. Robinson American Center located at the National ...

  Robert Omwa HSC, Kenya, Civic Leadership Track, Cohort 27 “I love children. Teaching and engaging with them is something I look forward to everyday” says Robert Omwa, a YALI Regional Leadership Center East Africa (YALI RLC EA) Cohort 27 alumnus and a teacher based in Kisumu County. Robert who has been a teacher since 2012 has taught in five schools with over 5,000 learners going through his classes. These are young boys and girls that he has taken through formal education and training in life skills, girl child empowerment, mental health, self-esteem among other important life issues...

Anne Waruguru Kiai, Kenya, Cohort 5   Waruguru Kiai is an advocate and leader for marginalized women and youth. The young leader has already founded a grassroots social enterprise called Africa Rising Solutions as well as served as a Youth Governor in the Nyeri County Government, on the Board member of the national Kenyan youth advocacy NGO Youth Agenda, and even starred in the leadership reality TV show Ms. President, where she placed in the top 5. Anne’s drive to advocate for marginalize...

  Charles Munyua, Kenya, Cohort 7 alumnus, is a champion for effective governance and an advocate for the political participation of youth and other marginalized communities. As a First Clerk Assistant in the Parliament of Kenya, Charles researches and drafts legislation and supports the passage of motions and resolutions. He clerks the Senate Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights, and issues he has worked on include harmonizing the laws related to the new Constitution of 2010 and the governments of the 47 counties of Kenya, the legislative framework to fight corrupt...

By Alexis Arakaza, Cohort 18, Burundi The notion of sex is seen as a taboo in Burundian culture. It is frowned upon to openly talk about sex to your child especially when they are in adolescent stage. Ignorance of their body changes and its probable consequences leads youth to sex practices at an early age. The repercussions are dire leading to dropping out of school, pregnancies, drug abuse, mental health issues, sexually transmitted infections and poverty. I vowed not to watch this happen. I organized and implemented a talk on sexual and reproductive health to high school students from Vug...

by Hassan Mulata, Cohort 12, Kenya   I am from Marsabit County in Northern Kenya and an award-winning activist who is passionate about women/girls rights, community peace building and development. I am the founder of Initiatives for Progressive Change (IfPC) which is a community-based organization that inspires change and transforms lives. Being passionate about women/girls empowerment, I identified the harmful cultural practices and in particular, female genital mutilation (FGM) as a foundation to women/girls disempowerment and eventual community underdevelopment. FGM robs the girl child ...

by Janeth Mkodo (Kim Malcolm), Cohort 32, Tanzania   You are probably reading the by-line and asking yourself, “Why does it have two names?” I am a transman. When growing up, I always felt that I was different from other people. However, while it was not a problem for me, I felt scared because of the community perspective towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI). People have this perception that LGBTQI people are cursed and that being part of that community is sinful and “un-African.” After much reflection when I turned 20, I realized that I identifi...

by Mariam Nakigudde, Cohort 9, Uganda   One great evening, I walked in the office of the Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Guild president. I found him focused on his computer busy typing. I then asked him why he was so busy still at campus late in the evening and he told me he was applying for YALI RLC EA, a program I had never heard about. I wrote it down and did more online research. I was sold. I later went through the application process and in July 2016 I was selected for Cohort 9. YALI RLC EA enabled me to discover my potential in changing the face of my community. I made ...