I Am Because We Are…

In the spirit of cooperative liberation, we utilize a network of home grown programs and partnerships to bring youth together across the African Diaspora, understand their commonalities, and see beyond their differences. Cooperative liberation recognizes that our common humanity unites us in our struggles and in our achievements.

We believe that having a better understanding of their global community enables youth to forge a stronger understanding of their own self identity. We seek to create a global coalition of youth with communal values where resources, wealth, knowledge, and skills are shared across channels to form a system of mutually beneficial networks.

South Africa

The Royal Bafokeng Nation is IAWA’s premier program partner.  IAWA built the Bokgoni Empowerment Program based on input collected during a three-year pilot conducted in the Royal Bafokeng Nation.  Since IAWA’s inception, the Royal Bafokeng Nation has supported IAWA through monetary and in-kind donations.

The Royal Bafokeng Nation is a traditionally governed community and the ethnic homeland of the Bafokeng people, located in the North West Province of South Africa.  The Royal Bafokeng Nation is on a mission to create an enabling environment for the prosperity of current and future generations by developing the people, the economy, and the land. The Bokgoni Empowerment Programme takes place in the capital city of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, Phokeng.  

United States of AMerica

IAWA is expanding to the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. Our program will be anchored in Prince George’s County, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC and the Sister City to the Royal Bafokeng Nation.

We also have partnered with likeminded organizations such as POPPYN, Buck Lodge Middle School, Brothers Empowered to Teach (BE2T), Jelani Girls, and Global Kids from the United States to create opportunities for cultural exchange with IAWA Ambassadors and youth from America.