Change The Narrative

My grass root experiences in Africa, qualifying as a high school teacher and battling with Sickle Cell Anaemia infused my desire to establish a 'Sanctuary of Hope' for the less privilege, those living below poverty line, with disabilities and forgotten within society. 

My the founder of Africa Life Line Foundation, my role is to bring hope, empowerment and awareness of human metabolism through various health, vocational and academic programmes that will inform youths, women and other local participants about the importance of healthy eating promoting appropriate energy. I want to transform lives daily, leading to employment, empowerment and self-sufficiency. 

My educational background of 20 years and voluntary work in Ethiopia with underprivileged children infused my desire to pursue this new venture on a full time basis to positively impact lives of individuals and communities bringing fresh hope and sustainability, alleviating poverty and deterring youths from the life of crime. 

Problem: High unemployment amongst youths leading to incarceration and overcrowded prisons with low or no correctional opportunities.

Solution: Provide sustainable access to education and vocational training in various activities whilst still in prison and on release to have opportunity to evolve positively within society leading to greater self esteem, confidence and self-sufficiency. Empowering the individuals with basic human rights for correctional purposes; allowing the individual in becoming an ambassador, sharing their experiences and help in deterring others from the life of crime which is highly costly to society, individuals and communities.

Elevate humanity: by Mobilizing youth and community due to increasing unemployment and education gaps between the rich and the poor. Our programme will support and mentor individuals in gaining employment or starting own business in agriculture & fishery, hospitality, fashion design, health care assistant or gaining required qualification for employable posts.

Knowing fully well that not all released inmates have something to fall back on or a place to call home after their years on incarceration, our after-care scheme was set up to address this issue. Our aim therefore is to elevate by retraining incarcerated inmates and those released back into society. We want to provide opportunity that will enable them to gain employable skills in learning how to produce paint, train in agriculture and fishery, leading to starting own venture, learning how to make blocks/bricks for construction industry and the possibility to build own home and provide further academic studies in gaining certified qualifications that will help them to match employer demand. Additionally, due to COVID 19, we want to further train released inmates to produce face masks for those still incarcerated to promote greater hygiene practice and the reduction of transferring the virus. Our proposed project will elevate humanity as it will empower the individual, allowing them to gain confidence, self-sufficiency and become ambassadors for the organisation in sharing their experiences, leading rebranding of minds and deterring youths from crime and have a better yield to good deeds. 

The project is about overcoming daunting circumstances by offering legal aid, empowerment because we know that after correction, there is a need for provision and positioning.

The project in simple terms:

• Land space donated from one of our trustees will enable the youth and released inmates to study fishery and crop agriculture. This venture provides opportunity to gain agricultural skills and certified training certificate. Also, participants can use this to begin own business, provide food and become self-sufficient.
• Working with other organisation, participants learn how to make paints and supply to other businesses and again build their own self-sufficient business.
• The NGO being operational and advocacy, aims to build a school and a youth training centre. To achieve this, participants will be taught how to make blocks/bricks allowing them to start their own business or employment. They learn about construction and support in building the youth training centre and the school, further supporting our work in counselling/mentoring the youth to become better citizens but also a safe haven to gain advice and discuss issues/struggles.
• The training centre caters for vocational training like the production of face mask, later studying fashion design, a gateway to  greater achievement of employment or entrepreneurship.

The project serves the youth and those within the ages of 18 -40 years old. Although our projects are open to both male and females, our target group is females who generally do not have general access to formal education and technical skills thereby creating poverty and heavy labour burdens. Our project aims to mobilize women and communities through our operational activities.

Lives are being impacted presently through various activities provided giving individuals hope of achievement, sense of protection, letting the youth know they are not forgotten even during this time of the global pandemic and being reassured that their right to health care is being addressed and the voiceless is being given a voice. The organisation has volunteers who visit inmates in various prisons especially the youths who are quite vulnerable and discuss their needs. Encouragement is given to participate with rules and regulations of their confinement but also present them with other activities the organisation and partner organisation can provide to ensure they become better citizens of society again.

The selected dimension is “Elevating opportunities for all people especially those who are traditionally left behind.” Many of our youths in Africa are frustrated and rather despondent about African life in general. The battle with postponement of examination, rising cost of education and resources, impacts on the most vulnerable already struggling to feed themselves and family members. Many homes governed by lone mothers with several mouths to feed, youth wanting to support family, end up in crime leading to their incarceration. Our aligned project supports rehabilitation, assist in deterring further criminal activity, ensuring the most vulnerable are supported.

Being a female from an African parentage creates immense stigma and a female with disability is a taboo that's deemed evil so the child becomes abandoned. My grass root experiences impacted immensely to begin this journey to build a ‘sanctuary of hope’ for the less privileged, vulnerable, women and those with disabilities evoked the idea of this project. The organisation is locally rooted with vital expertise already in the field of education, agriculture, medical and financial management and administration that will serve the community and empower individuals.

My dedication and belief in the project led to personal investment to purchase land for agricultural and fishery programme training, to make a difference, provide hope to those we trodden under our feet. My first-hand experience and research with local youths informed me of the tough situation they endure daily. Nigeria especially, churns with impoverishment. The length of my local area is littered with shear poverty and desolation.

The mammoth task ahead of the team, can only be achieved with your generosity and support. I sense of responsibility within me awakens daily, hence my devotion to this project that will elevate humanity to gain vital life skills that sustains, elevate poverty stigma.

EDUCATION, the fundamental driver in improving poverty and empowering individuals to become self- sufficient. Providing high quality education for all will be highly rewarding in their personal growth and development. By developing an appropriate education program not only gives the youth required skills to succeed and grow with incorporation of the cultural relevance because a good quality education will allow them to flourish, innovate and transform their life but also that of the community and their family. Such an opportunity will allow individuals in becoming productive member of society, thereby, education being the great equaliser and enabler.    

Education is not just about the academic certificates, its also about vocational training that is sustainable in becoming independent and self-reliant. The youth training programmes will offer courses in health care, teacher assistant training, agriculture & fishery,  construction, fashion and hospitality.

The use of technology is integral to our education programme as evident with the present global pandemic. Using educational training videos enhances learning and development thereby, having access to laptops and mobile Wi-Fi is important for distant leaning delivery but also to enhance youth’s knowledge and being able to collaborate with the outside world socially.

I am a qualified and experienced educationist with over 20 years of classroom and freelance experience, my volunteering work and general development within the African culture infused my greatest desire to help alleviate stigma that I experienced as a child which still impacts on my adult life today, thereby preparing me for this new venture role. In recognition of the shear poverty, research within the community and witnessing small children synchronise their petite frame to navigate the traffic begging for their daily bread.

I have experience in promoting education while upholding the morals of students. Education being the gateway means exploring the hidden curriculum, preparing and qualify individuals for work within the economy, integrating youth into society to remain stable and developing a holistic well-being.

I am also working with partners who are in need of my skills and support in the growing demand of providing employable opportunities for youths and varied rehabilitation programmes to sustain individuals in overcoming every daunting circumstances. Its about provision of opportunity to dream, build, anchor and achieve by entering the world, proving your worth through sustainability, empowerment and self-sufficiency which for me personally, broadens my face just the thought of such huge project to benefit many but realising it, brings greater joy of humanity support.

The greatest adversity was setting up the organisation: name, constitution, trustees and registration. After endless research to see what other NGO's are available, the work they do, the strength and background of the trustees and the endless social media adverts for humanitarian support, finally after a lengthy deliberation, focusing on our target group, Africa's Life Line Foundation was registered with its constitution in place. This project really belongs to African continent; its about collaborative work which was highlighted during our research that many African NGO's struggle to fulfil their aim and partnering with others, means helping more people globally.

As a team, the months and year it took to establish, test our organisation's aim by supporting four orphaned sisters into education and assisting a youth to attend their nursing training abroad, gave us hope and purpose in elevating poverty and reminding us that we wanted to help humanity further. Such an opportunity helped us to grow and became better at communicating and agreeing our final decision. Additionally, the global pandemic presently impacted our movement and the use of technology linked us further into working endlessly in ensuring we continue our work and meeting the needs of the locals and inmates.

I worked with a youth group as I was appointed the lead organiser for their summer camp activity. This was quite a surprise because many of the youths are from troublesome backgrounds, some with lone parents headed by the mother and others had experience of gang 'family' culture.

My main predicament was putting together a non judgemental holistic programme that will elevate the youths and bring hope and empowerment in assisting them to change their lives. For this to happen, I solicited the assistant of various youth organisation leaders and the activities they offer in reintegrating youth back into society. Our camp took place at Woodrow High House in Buckinghamshire, a very rich adventurous area providing numerous bonding activities. It was quite remarkable, seeing the reactions of the youths like I'd brought them 'to a rich man's world' quite a sentimental time for me as I saw this as normality of life, escapism from your immediate environment.

The youth were quite engaging in the numerous activities; the boys willingly doing household chores which they wouldn't do at home; they learnt to respect different genders. The project was successful, we all enjoyed the activities, an opportunity presentation elevating stigma, giving hope.

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This project is innovative because the team are excited and willing and ready to go further afield in supporting the most needy. Presently, inmates have been given the opportunity in paint making which led to beautifying their correctional centres. This was possible through collaboration with another organisation, fundraising and personal financial contribution.

The work of my partners is to offer legal services to inmates awaiting trial whilst my organisation offers rehabilitation activities in various employable programmes thereby, innovating others to a better and brighter future. The change we create collaboratively means giving participants a new dimension in their lives, which in itself is unique as we take a wholesome approach to coaching and mentoring each individual to achieve a sustainable and self fulling goal of becoming better citizens, leading to employment or entrepreneurship.

We currently support 300 participants in various activities.

1. Within the next year - we aim to target 200 people into agriculture; 300 people enrolled in academic programme; 200 people in construction; 300 people in vocational training.
2. Within five years we aim to serve at least 10,000 people again thorough our various programmes and with the help of those already trained in becoming ambassadors within their own local communities thereby continue the work of empowerment, leading to self sufficiency and sustenance. 

Within the next year the goal is to have the youth centre and school built with the agricultural programme in commencement. 

within five years, to have built a hospital sustainable hospital that will cater for 500 patients and have out patient facilities.

Part of the health programme is strong beginnings, integral to early childhood development. Mothers will be taught about nutrition, keeping their child healthy through hygiene and nurturing for the new-born. Furthermore, seminars on reproductions and sexual activities will be available to the youth (girls and boys) though, girls will be targeted as often they are left with unwanted pregnancy which could lead the to scrupulous medical centre to abort the child leading to endangering of life. Knowledge is power, thereby such training is vital where the youth are given opportunities to ask questions and receive literatures. 

Further, monthly health Expo programmes will be made available to the community on checking basics such as blood pressure, diabetes, malaria etc. The vision is to provide care service to the community, the youth being integral to this, gaining training as Health Care Assistant with the opportunity to further their training as a nurse or medical school. Health monitoring is finding the ‘root’ to wellness through our nutritional training in order to tackle gastrointestinal related symptoms such as IBS, reflux and bloating. The training will assist the youth and community to make healthy lifestyle choices to improve vitality, energy and overall well-being as they transition through the various stages of life.

The main barrier is funding, finding the right donor to support the projects which elevates relief of poverty and advancement of education and health.

Culturally, there are issues due to lack of government support and various barriers within the education system which is meant to elevate poverty and educate but often blocked by postponement of examinations and lack of finance of individuals who want to advance themselves for a better future.

Anchor Heritage - provide legal aid for inmates: my organisation supports the inmates with our various programmes leading into employment or starting own venture.

Agric Atry - provide certified agricultural training - the leaders of this organisation provide online and on ground training in crop and fishery training, again leading to employment or starting own business.

We provide various resources such as sewing machines. tools for cultivation, seeds for planting, cement, sand need to construct the blocks/bricks.

Applying to various donors for support and fundraising opportunities when its possible.

personally I have invested $20,000 dollars to support various participants, land purchase and workers salary

Estimated expense for 2020is around $350,000 for building construction and supporting participants to start up