Future of Africa

we encourage the uninhibited thinking and

natural curiosity of children and youth, a true source of our innovation

Journey for Change2011 (Ghana)

Future of Africa (FOA) aims to provide opportunities, resources, and skills in order to nurture the dreams and aspirations of underprivileged children and youth. We strongly believe that children and youth have the power and potential to make a di�erence and be agents of change in Africa.

Future of Africa continues to challenge misconceptions and raise awareness about issues in Africa through our domestic programming hosted at both participating campuses. FOA’s primary focus, however, is on supporting and encouraging the potential of children and youth, who constitute the future of Africa. Future of Africa’s projected expansion to other Canadian universities signals our continuing development of a network of individuals with a passion for humanity. Equipped with a growing foundation of dedicated volunteers who possess a desire to make a di�erence through meaningful action, Future of Africa intends to soon begin building youth centres in Ghana, a central initiative to the vision and goals of the organization. Through the youth centers - which will o�er resources and opportunities for youth to acquire skills through a variety of disciplines - Future of Africa aims to empower and educate, allowing children and youth to pursue their interests while also leading them to realize the role they play in the Future of Africa.

Future of Africa was founded as a Wilfrid Laurier Campus Club in October 2008. Less than one year later, students traveled to Arua, Uganda for FOA’s �rst Journey for Change service-learning experience. In the process, Future of Africa found inspiration for new initiatives, further de�ned its goals and direction, and recognized the value, importance, and educational potential of community engagement and active service. In 2010, Future of Africa truly began to �ourish. Campaigns demonstrated FOA’s passion, vision, and ambition to the Laurier community, attracting the attention of students, sta�, faculty and Waterloo community members, and building the membership of the campus club. A second campus chapter was also formed at the University of Windsor. Representatives from both the Laurier and Windsor FOA groups will travel together to Ghana for 8 weeks during the summer of 2011 to participate in Future of Africa’s second Journey for Change.

About Future of Africa

Future of Africa is con�dent that progress and development in

Africa will be achieved through empowerment of the youth.

The children and youth in Africa constitute the future leaders, culture, and ways of thinking of the continent. These children and youth are the primary focus of our initiatives because we believe that, by virtue of their natural curiosity, they hold the potential to discover innovative solutions to the challenges they experience. Encouraging today’s children and youth to pursue their dreams through providing support, resources, and opportunities, Future of Africa aims to foster a future generation dedicated to forward-thinking, progress, and change.

Achieving signi�cant change in Africa will require a shift in the values, attitudes, culture, and engrained ways of thinking of the society at large within the continent. Future of Africa sees the potential of the youthful population to be the agents responsible for ushering in this change. Through providing education and fostering the natural curiosity of children and youth, Future of Africa aims to encourage them to leverage their propen-sity for creativity to �nd solutions to the challenges they experience in their own lives. Future of Africa believes that through cultivating the minds of children and youth to think in innovative ways, Africa will develop a future generation that challenges assumptions, strives to improve existing circumstances, and seeks to create new opportunities.

This focus on African children and youth necessitates the creation of a team of Future of Africa volunteers on the ground and close to the problems in Ghana. These Ghanaian participants will be capable of identifying the relevant issues and challenges that should be addressed through Future of Africa projects. Furthermore, they will also possess �rst hand experience and familiarity with the local way of life that will be bene�cial in provid-ing logistical support and helping to coordinate Future of Africa initiatives in Ghana.

Our Focus

Future of Africa entrusts the future of the continent to the

children and youth, who have the power to

identify and address the issues they face.

Future of Africa

Journey for Change is a service-learning trip that enables participants to experience �rst hand the issues, challenges, community, and culture of an African country. The service projects are aimed at creating opportunities for empowerment to make a sustainable investment in the future of children and youth. The trip is also intended to educate participants, attach personal relevance to their e�orts and initiatives, and inspire action through spreading awareness and sharing their experiences following the trip.

Through the collaboration of Ghanaian and Canadian participants, Journey for Change is a collective e�ort to make progress toward Future of Africa’s vision for the continent. Extending far beyond simply providing support and logistical coordination of projects on the ground, the role of Ghanaian “FOA buddies” is imperative to the Journey for Change experience. For the Canadian participants, Ghanaian students o�er insight into the local perspective and help to communicate the intentions of Future of Africa initiatives to local community members. Ghanaian participants also provide a relevant and positive example for children and youth in Ghana, serving as role models and ambassadors for their peers by engaging in an active e�ort to work toward change.

Future of Africa is dedicated to providing resources

and opportunities to underprivileged children

and youth.

Journey for Change

Journey for Change 2011 will commence in Accra, Ghana, where Journey for Change participants will stay for the �rst two weeks of the eight week long trip. During this portion of the trip, Ghanaian and Canadian volunteers will meet, begin to discuss the issues they witness or personally experience in Ghana, and collaborate on developing a plan of action for working with underprivileged children and youth in Accra. These action plans will out-line an approach for building relationships with underprivileged youth in order to learn their stories and understand their challenges, enabling Journey for Change participants to re�ect on how best to assist in addressing the needs of Ghanaian youth. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit Selasie Food Processing, a local food processing factory, to observe the workings of a Ghanaian business.

Upon departing Accra after two weeks, Journey for Change participants will move to the rural village of Lolito, in Volta Region, for the four week service-intensive portion of the trip. Future of Africa will be working with Smile Child Foundation - a school, boarding house, orphanage, and community space - where participants will work alongside local tradesper-sons to complete repairs and renovations. The Journey for Change team will also have the opportunity to integrate themselves into the community and take part in traditional village activities such as weaving, basketry, and �shing, enabling them to learn about and experience the culture �rst hand. Participants will also gain insight into the local way life through immersing themselves in the community and engaging with local residents on a daily basis.

The Journey for Change team will conclude their service in Lolito, dedicating the �nal two weeks of the trip to re�ection, travel, and relaxation. Re�ection exercises will aid partici-pants in beginning to fully comprehend the value of their experience and the impact it has had on their own lives and those of others. Participants will visit attractions such as the Cape Coast Castle, Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, and Kakum National Park, as well as choose and undertake personal activities that will help them wind down and transition back to Canadian society. The �nal two weeks of the trip are intended to assist participants in negotiating their experiences, re�ecting on how to translate the learnings of the trip back to their own lives and how to communicate the experience to others as a means of education and inspiration to act.

Journey for Change 2011

Future of Africa intends to continue the Journey for Change initiative in Ghana on an annual basis. Subsequent trips will also follow the three part structure - acclimatization, service and community integration, and re�ection - and will similarly engage both Canadian and Gha-naian participants in the service-learning projects. Once the construction of Future of Africa youth centers commences, the establishment and development of these facilities will become a core focus of the Journey for Change experience. Future of Africa is con�dent that, through Journey for Change, it can continue to spread awareness, inspire action, and engage its volunteers in the cause for humanity through meaningful action.

Future of Africa believes that the success of its initiatives strongly depends on the involve-ment and contribution of Ghanaian participants. Through further establishing a team in Ghana, Future of Africa will have the ability to seek input and feedback from those who experience and witness �rst-hand the problems and issues that our initiatives aim to address. Due to the projected continuation of Journey for Change in Ghana, the formation and development of this team is particularly pertinent.

Our Future of Africa members in Ghana have a critical role to play in helping to de�ne the direction of our organization. Through providing insight based on experience and assessing our projects from a local perspective, this team will ensure that Future of Africa projects are relevant to Ghana’s current issues. Ghanaian participants can help to enable the overall e�ectiveness of our initiatives through serving as liaisons on the ground in Ghana, close to core of Future of Africa’s work.

Future of Africa would also like to invite Ghanaian participants to share their opinions through contributing to the “My Future of Africa” campaign. This campaign is designed to express our individual and collective hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the future of the continent. By asking participants to communicate their ideal vision of the future of Africa, we hope to acquire a sense of what issues motivate, infuriate, and inspire the youth to pursue progress and change.

In doing so, Future of Africa aims to become better prepared to support the future leaders of the continent in their e�orts to confront, address, and overcome the challenges and bar-riers that stand in the way their future of Africa. Furthermore, we intend for “My Future of Africa” to serve as a means of education, raising awareness within Canadian society by accompanying the statements with the current reality and background story that inspired each dream for the future. We encourage all to participate in this campaign and contribute their unique perspective and vision of a better future.

WHAT’S NEXT?

www.facebook.com/futureofafrica

@futureofafrica

info@foafrica.org

www.foafrica.org

Future of Africa believes in the need for collective

action to achieve positive change.

FOA 2011