Afresist Kenya: These young leaders who inspired me

Imagine Africa in miniature!

where young people have a real volition and a spontaneous desire to change the course of history.
Imagine for a moment! that today we have potential in African youth more than anywhere in the world.

Well! this Africa I met him during my training at the Afresist Young Leadership Program in Nairobi, Kenya https://alteregofatim.mondoblog.org/2019/08/26/afresist-kenya-the-other-face-of-africa-that-i-discover/
But before I tell you about Africa, let me tell you how I experienced this extraordinary experience. The fantastic people that I had the chance to know, and especially to talk to you about these young people who dream of moving Africa and which fortunately arrive there little by little.
Participating in the Afresist Young leadership program was evident to none of the participants, as the selection was intense on several levels; we had to deal with several high-level, often difficult questions. The goal was surely to make a quality program with tenacious young people who have proven themselves in leadership,
Afresist wanted young people with resilience and who can convey the messages of Africa;

After that, a preselection took place, selecting about fifty candidates, this step was crucial and even more difficult, because it was necessary to make a video of 2 minutes in which we had to convince and speak concretely about our projects, our achievements and our motivation to participate in the program.

which was a bit difficult for the Francophone participants, because the language of the training was English. In fact, through this program, I realized that the problem in Africa, especially in the French-speaking countries were the language problems, and especially English; In my humble opinion, there are many opportunities for young Africans, but many are stuck with the problem of understanding the English language, especially young people in French-speaking countries, because most of the best opportunities are in English. (Thanks to this experience of Afresist, I also thought about opening language centers specifically to train young people in English, and this from an early age).

In short, after being finally selected for the program we had a video conference with all the participants and the organizers, finally ending up in Nairobi, Kenya. My stay in Nairobi was enriching, I met young people who sincerely inspired me much , too much I must to admit, and that’s the reason why I decided to make this article, I am sure that after reading this article, many young people will be inspired, yes, the value does not wait for the number of years:

Agnes Masese Ogeto is the first profile I want to introduce. She is a young woman so sweet and kind that we come to appreciate at first sight. But his leadership does not stop only with his kindness. Agnes is a young Kenyan leader passionate about music as a tool for youth empowerment. She is a medical Psychologist by profession, a peer mentor and the founder of Music for youth Empowerment Movement aimed at; providing a life – changing opportunity for youths to experience the power of music to unleash their potential and build their character. She basically has only one hobby and that is travelling.

PETER NGUAFAC TEMATE FONGEH is my 2nd profile, very educated and cultured. he is from Cameroon, and a final year student at the University of Pretoria offering masters in sexual reproductive rights in Africa. He founded a youth organization Vision in Action Cameroon (VIAC) whose aim is to empower communities especially the young people with the knowledge and rights regarding sexuality and reproductive health so as to enhance their health rewarding behaviours as well as safety.
Peter is skilled in developing programs on empowering young through information and skills training to make informed choices grow into self-actualized adults capable of contributing to a better society.
He is passionate and involved in community mobilization, advocacy and youth activism. His passion gained him the position of Mobilizing officer with Afrika youth Movement, a Pan-African action-oriented social movement that strives for the development, active participation and leadership of African youth in the fight for peace and social justice and currently he is the acting co-chair.

IRUMVA Vanessa my 3rd profile is one of the most introverted women I’ve had the chance to know. Vanessa is from Burundi. Doing master degree in Kenya under a African Union scholarship known as Pan African University. She is interested in Neglected Tropical Diseases which affect mostly poor people in remote and rural areas. Currently she is working on a disease called Sleeping Sickness . She believes that we should all have access to health and well-being with no one left behind including the poor ones.
Also , She is a member of the Organization for Women in Science in the Developing World(OWSD) ,and a member of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Vanessa is passionnate by Science, that’s why she is a molecular Biologist and and its development in Africa. Another aspect about science, she would like girls to be more involved in it that’s why she do participate in outreach activities among girls in poor and rural areas.

Zaid My 4th profile, is our great genius that comes from Libya, young, it is part of the hopes of the rising generation of Libya. His name is Mohamed Zaid Ramadan.Multipotentialite, he is a programmery, Writer and Youtuber, Instructor at
Udemy and Maharah, he has a project called FASEL Project to help university
students and electronic services . he participated in FIRST Global Challenge
FGC17 and FGC18 ‘Global Robotics Competition.hé is Programmer accredited by the Libyan Ministry of Labor, Sololearn Academy, a strategic planning certificate from HP,also participed in the International
day of Arduino, and many more. Zaid was a TEDxYouth Speaker, made a
club called Programmers Club in Libya, to guide people in how to start
programming .Libyan And live in Tripoli, he mainly works as Head Coach for LYBOTICS Youth Team

Alhafiz Hassan Ahamat my 5th profile was my alter ego of adventure Afresist, our complicity was normal and obvious as we were the only two French-speaking participants in the adventure. Hafiz is from Chad, and like me, he is Country Director of the Global Peace Chain in his country. Hafiz is a young volunteer and member of several youth associations. He is one of the founding members and current Secretary General of the association « Action for Solidarity and Support for Vulnerable Groups ». This association works to assist the poor people morally, physically and technically speaking orientations. Alhafiz is also the Coordinator of the World Youth Program at the United Nations Association Youth Section of Chad on which promote the values of the UN. During his stay at the University of N’Djamena, Alhafiz Hassan was the Coordinator of the National Union of Chadian Students in the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences and a member of the Disciplinary Council of the Faculty. He is bachelor in Public Law and currently a Master’s degree in Public Basic Law. Currently, he is the Representative of the African Leadership Program Camps. He had participate in several youth meetings on the continent.

OKELLO’O JOSEPH aka Hasla, my 6th and last profile of this article, is my confirmed leader, from South Sudan, Hasla is one of the most inspiring young people I’ve ever known, he’s brave and enterprising by nature. Hasla was born on 7th July, 1994 during the drastic aftermath war of Sudan. He came to Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya at the age of 5 with the company of his aunt who later left his alone at the age of 9 till now. Currently he works as an editor and photographer for THE REFUGEE MAGAZINE and External Communication link for FilmAid INTERNATIONAL. he writes articles and publish poetries for his poetry platform. Hasla also create for his affiliation VINIA PRODUCTIONS where they make films and documentaries revolving around people living within the Camp, and he also help the head trainer, ISAAC OUMA in training the FilmAid media students.

As you have already understood, my stay was really rich in learning. With these young people, I am once again convinced that things will change slowly and positively for Africa. I am also sure that many young people in every corner of Africa are doing their best to impact their community and surely just need to take a chance. Programs like Afresist are perfect examples to train and guide young Africans; for us who have been fortunate to have such an experience, I think our role now would be to encourage other young people to fight for Africa while instilling in them and conveying lessons learned .

It’s time to build the Africa we want.