Camfed’s June 2012 newsletter made an exciting announcement. Two of Camfed’s secondary school graduates – Memory Nakazwe from Zambia and Rahinatu Ishawu from Ghana – have been accepted into African Leadership Academy’s (ALA) class of 2014.  It’s a great illustration of how the two organizations are developing next-generation leaders of Africa. Read the full announcement here. 

Camfed blog on Memory and Rahinatu’s acceptance to ALA

Camfed educates girls and empowers young women in some of the poorest communities in rural Africa to become leaders of change. Abigail Kandu for example, represented Zambia at the 2010 Young African Women’s Forum and participated in President Obama’s Young African Leaders Forum. Rashida Iddisah and Rafia Lawal represented young women of Ghana at the 2011 UNESCO Youth Forum. They shared their perspectives on how to improve education for young women from rural areas, and their recommendations were presented to the UNESCO General Assembly. Camfed’s alumni network, Cama, is a powerful pan-African network of role-models who are re-investing back into their communities and becoming champions for girls’ education. This virtuous cycle, which starts with educating a girl, is benefiting thousands of communities. 

ALA looks for and develops future leaders – young people who demonstrate commitment to improving the African continent and solving social issues. It’s an impressive roster. First-year student Joel Mwale from Kenya – who is last year’s Anzisha Prize winner – was recently named one of 10 Google Zeitgeist Young Minds, an award honoring the greatest 18-24 year-old innovators around the globe. Earlier this year, two teams of ALA alumni were awarded the Kathryn Davis Prize for Peace — one team for addressing the root cause of post-election violence in Kenya, and another for designing an entrepreneurship camp to meet the challenge of youth unemployment in Morocco. Last year, ALA graduate Tabitha Tongoi was invited to speak on a panel at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, where she discussed what young people in Africa want from education. This is just a snapshot of ALA’s visionary students, who are working to transform their communities and countries.

In September 2012, Memory and Rahinatu will join this exceptional league of young African leaders at ALA. Memory is a science enthusiast and hopes to tackle the issue of climate change in Africa. Rahinatu plans to address teenage pregnancy and improve women’s reproductive health in rural Ghana. ALA’s two-year curriculum will not only help them develop these ideas further, but will offer them a lifetime of guidance in their future endeavours. It’s an exciting announcement, and we look forward to hearing more about their experiences and initiatives in the near future!