Elijah Amoo Addo is making it possible for low income and vulnerable communities in Africa to access efficient and sustainable nutrition. A trained chef by profession, Elijah is the inspiring Founder and Group CEO of Food for All Africa. Since 2015 Food for All Africa has operated West Africa’s first community food support program in Ghana by leveraging mobile technology to create efficient and sustainable means of nutrition through food recovery, farming processing, packaging and redistribution through community food stores and a mobile app. Elijah has received numerous recognitions, including:

• 2017 Queen Elizabeth’s Young Leader for courage and passion of re-inventing Africa’s food system by bridging the food gap within communities
• 2017 Selected as a Kumvana fellow by Engineers without Borders Canada 
• 2015 Attended President Obama Young African Leadership Initiative training where one hundred young Africans were selected by the USAID and provided with training and mentorship in entrepreneurship, civic leadership and public administration
• 2015 Nominated as advocacy champion for the Future Award Africa in Nigeria

Karina has been working with Even Cargo since 2017 as a Community Engagement Lead. She designed and implemented the mobilisation and training program for women in the company which is the first e-commerce logistics delivery company that increases women’s participation in the workforce by challenging gender norms and including women in traditionally inaccessible job roles. Even Cargo believes that access to sustainable livelihood opportunities for women from low-income opportunities strengthens their voice within families and society at large. For this purpose, Even Cargo is training and employing girls and women from low-income communities in professions that have been male dominated so far, such as that of a delivery associate in the e-commerce logistics industry. Even Cargo has employed 50+ women in Delhi alone, and provided job training for 250 women. 

Even Cargo is led by a team of millenials and professionals who work with other organizations and the government to achieve their goals. They leverage diverse cultural perspectives to get a better understanding of major challenges and opportunities in India and how Indian youth, through innovation and their various entrepreneurial initiatives, is addressing them.

Lavender Ntaoti is the Leader of a project to modify water purification technologies for applicability in Kenya. Many places in Kenya do not have access to clean and safe drinking water, even in schools. Consequently, the population, especially school children suffer from various diseases, miss school and are exposed to dangers on the way to fetch clean water. Even though many water purification technologies have been developed, they have limited applicability in Africa.  Lavender’s project offers an urgent solution using as the basis the Stonehouse Water Technologies (SWT) world’s smallest water purification system (WaterPOD). Lavender led a pilot project initiative to perform gap analysis; customize the WaterPOD for third-world applications; optimize the WaterPOD to have capacity to supply up to 56 liters per minute; install and pilot the customized WaterPOD Technology; and evaluate its applicability in developing countries.

This project involves different numerous stakeholders with a shared goal to provide clean water to the people in Kenya. Lavender learned about cultural and societal norms, such as that in many tribes in Kenya water is sacred, a source of inspiration and has been for many centuries. These parameters were included in the project design, modification, and execution. Lavender’s master’s research thesis (2019) at Illinois State University focuses on the selection of effective water purification systems to improve lives in developing countries and includes water health training in five locations in Kenya.

Luisa Fernanda is the Co-Founder and Project Manager of Get Up And Go Colombia that contributes to peacebuilding through tourism and education. Get Up And Go Colombia operates in regions previously affected by armed conflict by converting former war zones into cultural and gastronomic destinations for domestic and international tourists. Their work has had an impact on more than 20,000 people, including tourists, current and past volunteers, communities and local businesses that benefit directly and from their activities. Get Up And Go Colombia partners with governmental organizations like the ARN (National Agency for Reintegration) and Unity for Victims which work on the reintegration of former combatants and  provide support services for victims of the armed conflict. Both groups can join Get Up and Go Colombia to learn English and become tour guides.

Luisa Fernanda believes that diversity and inclusion are key for peacebuilding. Get Up And Go Colombia includes a team of 39 local and international volunteers who are young bilingual students, some displaced as children due to the conflict. Others belong to the LGBTQ community and they have found acceptance in this organization. “I want to inspire young people through tangible actions, teaching them how to connect, support and engage with each other to start making the change we want to see,” says Luisa.

Sarah Strader is the Executive Director of Two Rabbits, an organization that works with indigenous Baka hunter-gatherer communities in Cameroon to provide empowering early preschool education that prepares children for success in the classroom and the forest. At their preschools, community-nominated youth teachers guide children through the curriculum that aligns best practice, Baka needs and culture, and Cameroonian policy. Sarah provides strategic direction and capacity building on best practices in early childhood education, teacher training, local language instruction, and organizational development. Two Rabbits partners with a local nonprofit, ASTRADHE, to connect with indigenous communities and co-design the project. Two Rabbits puts communities at the center of innovation and program delivery to provide empowering early childhood education that prepares children for success in formal school, their ancestral forest home, and beyond.They have reached more than 500 children to date, doubling literacy scores and increasing gender equity in learning outcomes. 

“We prepare kids to succeed in school and the forest, embrace their heritage, and love one another. We support families to be proud of who they are, and to build a future together based on mutual respect and solidarity,” says Sara.