LEAP Africa Deploys Over 5,000 Youth To Transform 34 African Communities

LEAP Africa, in partnership with Dow and other technical partners, said they had mobilised over 5,000 young people across 34 African countries to champion and implement projects including tree planting, school painting, food drives, beach cleaning, digital sensitisation, medical outreach, prison outreach among others.

According to the managing director, Dow Northern and Western Africa, and chair of Dow Africa Steering Committee, Sami Mainich, the projects led by individuals, corporations, public and social sector organisations were aligned with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).

Mainich pointed out that they recently concluded the third edition of the Pan African youth-led social impact campaign-Youth Day of Service (YDoS) 2022- across various African communities, adding that the week-long campaign with the theme – Youthful and Useful – kicked off with a pre-event press conference in Lagos.

During its activation, youth across the continent came out in large numbers to accentuate the strength and possibilities of their agency in actualising a sustainable future through volunteerism and community service. With much confidence and unity of purpose, every young person who participated in the initiative had one sentence to convey their message – “We are Youthful and Useful”.

Mainich explained the goal behind Dow’s partnership with LEAP Africa, saying, “Dow recognises that the future is created by what is done today through empowerment, collaboration, and deliberate investments in the communities we live and work in.

“As global citizens, we believe in dedicating our time and talents to challenges and opportunities that connect science, people, and community across the globe to achieve our envisioned world built on human creativity, innovation, and problem-solving.