I Am, We Are and LearnServe International Bring Social Entrepreneurship Program to South Africa

I Am, We Are (IAWA) partnered with LearnServe International to bring their 2021 Global Summer Fellowship to South Africa. Over five weeks, IAWA Alumni and students from Kitsong School and Mmanape High School, engaged virtually with youth from the Washington, DC area of the United States and Zambia. 

 During the social entrepreneurship leadership program participants selected one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and were grouped into cohorts depending on their interest. Participants researched the issue they care about and designed and launched social ventures to tackle that issue in their communities. In the process participants exchanged ideas and learned about each other, their cultures and countries – and understood that global issues affect all of us, and can be tackled through local action. The program culminated in a final pitch competition where one venture from each country could win a seed grant of $100 to help launch the venture.

“It was wonderful to welcome IAWA students into the LearnServe summer program and seeing their ventures take shape – and I was so impressed by the dedication and creativity of IAWA participants and staff,” shared Sabine Keinath, LearnServe Director. “Our judges had the task to select just one winner from South Africa (and one from each of the other countries), and believe me, that was a really difficult task because all of them were so engaged and ready to tackle important issues ranging from waste management, youth unemployment to public health.”

The IAWA winner was Amogelan Moatshe whose venture addressed access to vaccinations for rural populations in his community. Amo’s venture demonstrated that we are affected by the same global issues despite differences in country, circumstances and backgrounds.

IAWA is committed to providing opportunities to expose youth, in the communities we serve, to the world-at-large. “In 2019, IAWA had the privilege of hosting LearnServe’s Global Summer Fellows in South Africa and we were excited to enhance our youth’s participation through the virtual adaptation,” stated Meisha Lerato Robinson, IAWA’s Founder and Chief Executive of Hope. “They loved hearing the different perspectives and are now motivated to use the skills they learned to aid their communities. We look forward to exploring how we can more formally integrate LearnServe’s Global Fellowship into our program offerings for our Ambassadors.”

LearnServe International is a Washington, DC, USA based non-profit that equips middle and high school students from diverse backgrounds with the entrepreneurial vision, tenacity, confidence, and leadership skills needed to tackle social challenges at home and abroad.