A LETTER TO
THE YALI WASHINGON FELLOWS AND THE ALUMNI
Dear YALIANS
Greetings
from the most amazing and greener city Nairobi, Kenya. Welcome back home
it's now almost one month since most of you came back, I would like to take
this opportunity to thank the Obama administration and the team for putting up
the YALI program together. This is a sign of sacrifice and the love you have
towards the African youth and young future leaders. A great leader is the one who
can mentor and equip young leaders to be better and greater leaders after they
leave. President Obama has been a champion for change and support to young
people not only in Africa but across the global, many young people and aspiring
leaders really admire your style of work. Thanks for the good job Mr. President.
To the YALI
fellows, I believe the experience was
amazing and all young people across Africa are looking forward to what next
after such a life time experience. I have had a chance to interact with most of
the fellows from South Africa, Somalia, and my country Kenya and the feedback was such a positive one.
Through my chats it seems YALI Fellowship was such a wonderful platform to learn and
experience a different level of training and leadership, I am sure it's time to
replicate what you learned from the entire and also give back to the society what Washington
gave you.
Most of the
time it's hard to bring young people together despite of the enthusiasm and the
zeal for change. YALI is a wakeup call
and a challenge for us to you to do something before we complain to our leaders(the old
folks) that they are not giving us the opportunities, while if given such a great
opportunity with huge investment we then come back and its business as usual,
the big question is what are you doing?
YALI was a platform and avenue to bring young
leaders together and show them how to work together and widen their network as well .
You were all selected because you were showing a great leadership and good
track records, Now that you have a great network of amazing young people around
Africa could you bring back the spirit of Pan-Africanism that our fore fathers
had.
Our current
leaders have failed us as young people but if we could all rise and be the
change we want to see in Africa then we could be the next big voice.
I have a had
a chance to attend several global conferences and even attended a few
fellowship around the world. When we
meet in through this platform we sound so united but after we are back to our
countries everyone goes back to business as usual and hence make us the most
divided and self-centered people.
We need to
be different if we want to be trusted leaders, we need to be able to pull together and even reason together. Lets us
not spend 90% just making ourselves look nice on Facebook, twitter and other
social media platform and our impact in the ground is so limited. Lets us roll
up our sleeves go out and create real
impact be the revolutionaries of change for Africa. I believe through you
network you could focus on one particular thing like, either, health, education
and eve talent and do one thing that could change your community.
The
challenge is the constant question " what will you do when you get
home" or what we call the exit strategy", I would like to see and
feel the presence of YALI Fellows in my country even if it's just mentoring
young organizations and even going back to your villages and going something of
social impact. Those who are interested in taking up role as leaders of today
it your time to step out and share your manifesto to the people you want to
lead don’t misled by the likes and
comment you get via social media but be convinced by the followers and leaders
who trust you in the group. I am posing a challenge for you to step out and
leader as a YALI Fellow.
I am calling
upon the African leaders to support the YALI fellows, As a young African and a
mentor I believe that young leaders need true mentors and people who can guild
them and even advocate for them. It’s a challenge that I would wish my president HE Uhuru Kenyatta to take up and create
an institution that can bring up young leaders who are passionate to lead this
country. Could you support them realize
their dreams and ambitions? If you if you lead by example the rest of the
African leaders will then follow your footsteps
The media
plays a great and very important role when it comes to showcasing what young people are doing,
let the media step out from the norms of the same youths on our television being
interviewed in almost all channels but it's time to step out to look for the un
sang heroes. Young people who are doing amazing things around Africa.
The future
of our continent does not lie in the hands of a few hereditary individuals but to the young leaders who are ready to
step out and lead differently , come up with smart policies that could make
Africa greater and better.
I am writing
to all the YALI fellows and Alumni around Africa to rethink and create a
collaborative network of change makers young people who can work together for
the betterment of our continent, Just to stay focus, think and make an impact. Young people
are leaders of today and greater leaders of tomorrow . If we want Africa to be different we must
collectively pull together so that we
can influence policies and give a clear road map on where we want to be. For a long
time youths have been used in all manner of interest but it's time to stand firm
and talk collectively as young people.
Together we
can be the change we want to see in our motherland, would be glad to interact
and work together with many of you.
Shalom, Peace, Amani
Join me on
Twitter; https://twitter.com/calvinjodisi
Facebook;https://www.facebook.com/calvinscooly
Organization
website; www.changemindchangefuture.org
TV interview
on Africa Innovation and Economics on Ebru Africa TV
