Daniel Kwaku Owusu, Ghana (2021)

“To use action research and education to drive peri-urban and urban aquaponics to ensure sustainable farming activities among households.”

Daniel Kwaku Owusu is a dedicated natural resources conservationist, effective community educator, and aquaponics farmer with 10 household aquaponics establishments across five different regions in Ghana.

Through his project, Daniel aims to contribute to food security through innovative household aquaponics establishment as an alternative livelihood and climate adaptation strategy. Household aquaponics initiative using locally available materials is an initiative that seeks to promote household adoption of aquaponics (fish and vegetable culture) in a recirculation system as a climate adaptation strategy in urban and peri-urban areas.

Lourence Balatbat, Philippines (2021)

“To create youth-responsive and youth-inclusive systems of governance that will guarantee proportional youth representation and decision-making power over matters affecting their present and future civic, economic, political, and social lives.”

Lourence is a social innovator from the Philippines who founded Beyond Three Billion — an initiative that works with communities in four developing countries to address the marginalization of young people in decision-making spaces. From receiving the first Roberta Richin Vision Plan Award in 2017 when he was a YLA mentee, Lourence returned as a mentor in 2019 and 2020 and, most recently, he received MCW Global’s 2021 Alumni Ventures Fund.

Beyond Three Billion is a youth-led, not-for-profit organization implementing a community-based project that creates a youth-responsive and youth-inclusive decision-making system. Simply put, B3B works with four target communities in the Global South to ensure that young people under the age of 35 have both proportional representation and adequate decision-making power in community-level governance.

Anmol Zehra, Pakistan (2020)

“A community of healthy individuals with access to health facilities and compassionate healthcare systems in Pakistan.”

While studying medicine for 5 years and practicing it at one of the most renowned state owned hospital, I experienced the miserable state of healthcare systems. People have to travel hundreds and thousands of miles to get to some sort of medical aid.

These problems forced me to look around my circle of influence and come up with idea of creating “HEALTH MATTERS” which is focused on bringing in health solutions using technology and innovation as medium to contribute to the betterment of healthcare systems in the country. In the era of technology, when we have to opportunity to reach out to people living in far flung areas through internet, creating a digital platform to connect efficient underutilized doctors with patients with less resources and unmet needs is extremely different but not impossible.

Made Sunaya, Indonesia (2020)

“A place where Indonesian Children and Youth have the awareness and ability to maintain a healthy and green environment.”

Continuing my pilot project of Bumi Buddies that I created from the Young Leaders Access Program back in 2018, I am still in full spirit and determination to continue to create programs that concerns about the environment.

“Less Waste More Love” is in a form of workshops series that are aimed for young people, and it will enable them to learn from different speakers and workshops that will be invited to facilitate several topics. This will allow the participants to learn something new from experts, get the sense of being involved, and become environmental leaders.This project is unique, because now, with the raising concerns about the environment, I realize that the youth have the power to make the change in their own community. They have the voice and the ability to empower their community, by being their own environmental leader.

Mohamed Ghanem, Egypt (2019)

Agents 4 SDGs has developed on a whole new level due to the AVF Support. Since 2019, we were able to design and implement 5 programs that impact more than 350+ young people in Egypt.

The programs focused on equipping young people with a clear understanding of SDGs, social entrepreneurship, and civic education whether through awareness campaigns (online/offline), workshops, networking events, and peer mentorship. Also, we have an extensive TOT program to qualify the young facilitators and trainers with the required knowledge to transmit their knowledge to maximize impact on youth program and organizations. On another hand, we were proudly able to train the trainers, and enablers in rural areas like upper Egypt and follow up on their multiplier effect which was quilt successful to reach more people in these places in need of our support. Thus, we have been reached out by big organization to become their partners in different programs such as UN SDGs Advocates Program, British council active citizen programs, Goethe institute Cairo. Also, we participated in the social dialogue on the Egypt 2030 vision.

In addition to that, we secured physical space to implement our offline workshops and we succeed to build a good website and stored into a server which helped us to build a digital infrastructure to be ready to shift our activities online, reach more people and continue in the time of lockdown.

Sharath Koona, India (2019)

At project R.E.T.U.R.N (Redefining Education Through Universally Reachable Network) our vision is to see "A world where every line-of-work is cherished" we will achieve it by Creating an URN (Universally Reachable Network) which guides & mentor individuals in realizing professional dreams.

With our project we are making the communities aware about the diverse career paths out there, through career crafting workshops. And also by developing an online platform which generates optimized career paths for the dreamers by not only listing out all the steps to one's dream career, but also by providing with the minute details like Skills/Certifications required to ascend those steps.

Workshop 1: Discover Dreams - Successfully executed our first career crafting workshop in association with St. Joseph's convent High school, Adilabad. While this workshop acted as a platform for both students and parents to open a dialogue regarding CAREER PLANNING. Ms. Harsh Vardan Kaur’s amazing insights on parent-child nurturing and different career opportunities that are trending at present & Alumni talk by Sharath Koona has inspired many of his juniors. In total 290+ participants attended the event which includes 140 students 130 parents 20+ teachers & others.

Workshop 2: YOUOPEN - Youth Opportunities & Entrepreneurship is a one-day summit to educate youth in becoming leaders of positive change in their communities. At this event we along with youth of India come together to learn about Mr. Gauravdeep Singh’s entrepreneurial journey & Ms. Harshvardhan Kaur provided insights into opportunities within India & abroad for youth with high potential to lead in their communities. In total, 600+ students from different streams attended the workshop.

Tu Karen Nguyen, Vietnam (2019)

YJT Sisterhood Union was formed in April 2017, based on the foundation of a 10 years old fan-forum. The organization aims to create a platform that connects and empowers members (mostly female) through knowledge sharing, career opportunities sharing, and emotional supports.

After 3 years in operation, the organization is now hosting 2345 members, 94% of which are female aged from 18-35, with 88,5% active rate on our Facebook group. YSU members are Vietnamese located in 25 different countries all over the world, but mainly big cities in Vietnam.

In February 2019, Tu-the founder and YSU received AVF award from MCW. With that financial supports, YSU created its official appearance with logo and website, set-up more activities with YSU Skills Share Club, various Webinars, Blog Writing, and Career Opportunities sharing. YSU is now providing and encouraging members to join their free classes in Business Intelligence, coding with Python, and more classes to come.

In the next few years, the organization aims to cultivate enough experiences and resources to run Mentor program and Micro-finance program for its own members.

Ogbemudia Eddy Uwoghiren, Nigeria (2019)

The LifeSaversNG is a Social enterprise with the vision of ensuring there is zero preventable deaths during emergency by empowering ordinary citizens with basic First Aid skills to save lives; stabilize victims before transportation to the hospital and techniques to be confident in approaching emergencies.

According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, 2,786 Nigerians died from road traffic accidents in 2019 with more than half of these deaths being preventable had the victims received pre-hospital care or first responders had First Aid skills to administer in reducing severity of injury before transportation to the hospital. Pre-hospital care through Emergency Medical Services (EMS) which is necessary to improve outcome of emergency conditions is suboptimal in Nigeria and international organizations have recommended that training of lay responders in Basic First Aid is a means of filling this gap in low resource settings like Nigeria with inadequate EMS.

In the last 2 years of carrying out intervention programs through our community based First Aid trainings, #StopTheBleed Campaign and Online campaigns, we have organized 8 trainings empowering 650+ persons directly with Basic First Aid skills.

As an organization made up of 15 volunteers, we have given team members the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and learn project management while discharging their duties. Our Monitoring and Evaluation analysis showed an increase in Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of First Aid among the beneficiaries from 18.1% to 49.7% with three beneficiaries returning to their local communities to hold a step down trainings.

Fredrick Meena, Mbeya, Tanzania (2017)

As part of the MCW Oral Health Care Program, Fredrick has continued to work on his project, Oral Hygiene Practices in the Community, which aims to educate about oral health and introduce basic care to prevent oral diseases in local communities in Tanzania. The AVF grant enabled him to expand his project to additional communities and to include disabled children.

Fredrick is currently preparing to return to the communities he first visited (orphan and disability centers) as part of his AVF project and provide free dental screening and oral health advice.

“AVF means a lot to me because it will help me reach the rural community and provide oral health hygiene education.”

Timurlan Alagushov, Bihskek, Kyrgyzstan (2017)

Timurlan used the award to create a new mobile platform for his organization, Let’s Dance. The organization’s mission is to provide dance education through people, technologies and events and to create an environment where young people can develop both as artists and professionals.

“Receiving such support as the AVF for the current period of my project development is like finding oasis in a desert. Let’s Dance will change the dance industry all around the world and will help to bring the most value of the art of dance to people, beginning from my local community to global.”

Hennie Kongsøre, Oslo, Norway (2016)

In 2014, Hennie founded a non-profit, RAFIKI, to raise money to support children in the Tanzanian town of Bagamoyo. Her vision was to create a safe and secure space where children could come after school to learn, be creative and find inspiration.

Having lived in Bagamoyo for several years, Hennie saw that many of the young people she met lacked the confidence and opportunity to advance their own dreams. As a dancer, she knew the power of art and creativity on an individual’s life, so she decided that she wanted to use them as tools to make a positive impact.

From that moment on, her mission was to build an arts center for children in Bagamoyo. Yet, the journey to achieve this mission has been a long and tough one.

Along the way, she raised start-up funds in Norway, built trust and understanding in the community, and opened up a center.

The AVF grant from MCW helped Rafiki's future looked promising.

Unfortunately, despite the support she had gained along the way, Hennie lost everything she had built up due to a series of unexpected challenges and circumstances.

Still, she never lost sight of her goal. With the support of her dedicated board members, she eventually changed her strategy and brought all the experience and knowledge with her to a new phase of the project. Thanks to the AVF grant, RAFIKI was able to cover the first year of rent and construct a new dance stage.

On September 22, RAFIKI held its grand opening with almost 400 community members participating in the festival. Since then, children have been participating in RAFIKI’s dance, yoga, street dance, and fine art classes and the center has been fully active.

"It is hard to believe how far we have reached. I was so grateful when I received the AVF grant, but after seeing the actual result - the physical structure, our own space, and the development as an organization, I am more than humbled. MCW, you gave me so much more than just a grant. You believed in my vision, you mentored me through the ups and downs. I am forever grateful and humble for your support and to call you my family."

Xolani Makhebe, Cape Town, South Africa (2016)

Xolani received a grant to help fund TUMO - The Unlimited Movement Organization. Xolani first had the idea for TUMO when he donated a brand new school uniform to a boy in need in 2013. From this, Xolani founded TUMO with a vision to make sustainable changes in people's lives by empowering them through career guidance, education, and tutoring. Recognizing the burden education fees place on young students without financial resources, TUMO plans to cover the costs of university registration fees for the most-improved students it tutors.

"This is not just a fund for me, this is a gift from people who care about me and what I do," says Xolani. "It will make a huge difference to TUMO. It's an amazing feeling to know that TUMO will have its first resources."

Abdu Mohamed, Arusha, Tanzania (2015)

Established in 2013, Abdu’s  The Way Forward Foundation aimed to educate communities in Tanzania about United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UNMDGs), provide scholarships to disadvantaged children to pursue educational opportunities, and and to educate about life skills. With the AVF grant, The Way Forward purchased equipment and materials to support the pursuit of these goals, as well as to produce a song and video documentary. During the execution of Abdu's project from 2015-2016,  3,000 students in six secondary schools and 500 youth, and 600 parents engaged in foundation programs. The foundation is no longer in operation.

"We have seen so much feedback with appreciation of our programs and we created cooperation with other organizations and the government."

Dylan Howard, Maine, USA (2014)

Dylan received a grant to support his work with the Caterpillar Hill Initiative (CHI), a non-profit in Maine that helped to turn a piece of property on the coast into a space for the arts. With a vision of not only preserving the beautiful piece of land, CHI is committed to “connecting people to the natural world through art” and hosts an on-site art gallery to showcase the works of local artists, while also serving as a space for the community to host workshops, retreats, and conferences. AVF helped CHI build an amphitheater that will provide a public space for community events, and attract a year-round source of customers that will help fund CHI’s preservation.

Chris Bashinelli, Brooklyn, New York, USA (2012)

Chris’s vision when applying for the AVF was to return to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota so that he could screen a rough cut of the documentary he had previously filmed there. The project, called Bridge the Gap, explores life on the reservation and promotes crosscultural understanding; the screening allowed the community to provide feedback to ensure the final version of Bridge the Gap accurately portrayed the culture of and life in Pine Ridge. Chris has gained significant audience and continued the Bridge the Gap series since his visit to South Dakota, expanding the series to include Haiti, Uganda, and Mongolia; all four episodes are now airing on the National Geographic Channel International.

"I hold MCW to be profoundly impactful in my professional and personal life. After being a part of the 2009 retreat I made friendships and connections that changed my life forever. I’m unbelievably grateful and look forward to paying it forward in some way.”

Felix Nyakatale, Bagamoyo, Tanzania (2010)

Felix’s initial vision was to establish a School of Tanzanian Cuisines in Bagamoyo and help students gain the skills necessary to obtain jobs in the hospitality and hotel industry. This evolved into the opening of his restaurant, Poa Poa, which features a modern twist on Tanzanian cuisine. Today, Poa Poa is one of the most popular spots in Bagamoyo.

Amma Agyapon, New York, New York, USA (2009)

Amma’s vision was to organize a multi-media event in her community to raise awareness of Lukumi culture and religion, as well as the rites of passage programs sponsored by Egbe Iwa Odo Kunrin/Binrin (The Society of Young Men and Women). Amma’s event, Egbe Iwa Day, included the production of a music video to celebrate the organization, and helped recruit new members to join the organization, serve as mentors, and lead workshops to teach adolescents tools for adulthood. Since the original Egbe Iwa Day, Amma’s vision has continued: the event has been repeated three times since first implemented in 2010, and the song Amma recorded has continued to be used in recruitment efforts for the organization. Amma was “especially excited about receiving a year’s worth of mentorship. Watch the video Amma helped produce to aid her organization’s recruitment.

Shawn Crosby, Cleveland, Ohio, USA (2009)

Shawn grew his vision of a platform for teens to voice their opinions into a non-profit organization, the American Children’s Organization (TACO), which he set up in 2006. TACO is committed to inspiring young people from diverse backgrounds to be fully engaged in school and life so they have opportunity and choice to pursue their dreams.

"The AVF grant was seed money that helped us get our initial incorporation [as a non-profit] and start funding our programming.” Today, TACO helps keep high school students in the Atlanta area on track towards preparing for college. Additionally, the organization uses an after-school program to inspire elementary and middle school students to think about their futures and possible career paths. MCW helped me to organize my thoughts and make sense of the passion I had for youth and my community.”