Pathways Out of Poverty for Youth in Africa

Over the 12 years of the African Impact Foundation's progress, we have seen first-hand how youth face specific challenges and have a window of time to make decisions about their future. This stage in life can be an opportunity to foster hope and a drive for the future; however, when the challenges of poverty escalate, there are many risks for young adults, especially when there is a lack of choices for their future. Zambian girls and boys face challenges such as economic vulnerability, social isolation, and lack of appropriate health information and services, which prevent a healthy transition from girlhood into womanhood and boyhood into manhood. Girls face high rates of Gender-based violence and unsafe sex, which increases their risk for unwanted pregnancy, HIV infections, and school dropout. Boys, on the other hand, face Gender-based violence and substance abuse, leading to a high theft rate, unsafe sex, and increased risk of HIV infections as well as school dropout. These lead to a lack of economic resources, income-generating options, and a general lack of agency in shaping their lives. The root cause of these vulnerabilities is primarily determined by girls' and boys' weak social, health, and economic assets. The Youth Insaka program aims to build these assets as an interconnected approach toward mitigating girls' and boys' vulnerabilities. 

The overall goal of the Youth Insaka Program is to promote the holistic development of adolescents and young adults in accordance with the African Impact Foundation's impact areas of Wellness, Education, Gender Equality, and Livelihoods. 

The main objectives of this program, among many are: 

o   To instill skills among adolescents to enable them to overcome the challenges of growing up and becoming responsible adults. These skills include communication, decision-making, assertiveness, setting goals, and resisting peer pressure.

o   To reinforce and promote attitudes and behaviors that will lead to a better quality of life for adolescents.

o   To increase adolescent girls' and boys' knowledge of reproductive health and sexuality,

o   To ensure youth voices in the community are heard

o   To create a solid avenue to advocate our mission to the community

o   To empower young people to help make a change.

o   Develop leadership skills in multiple disciplines. 

This program aims to equip participants with life skills and knowledge to help them maintain happy and healthy lifestyles and be empowered with the confidence to assert their rights and protect themselves from harm and threats. Since its inception, we have so far seen a significant change in the lives of the adolescents and youths involved, as we can see from the feedback below: 

"We are very that they are privileged to be taught about such topics because they have come across many pregnant teens, some of whom they have heard say they got sexually transmitted diseases. "So, for them, it is a good thing that they are sensitized