5th Youth Global Forum was held in Amsterdam. This year a lot of social projects were presented at the forum, the winner was Bright Young Leaders Initiative (BYLI).
5th Youth Global Forum was held in Amsterdam. This year a lot of social projects were presented at the forum, the winner was Bright Young Leaders Initiative (BYLI).
BYLI is a youth empowerment organization that helps young people realise their hidden qualities and ability to become changemakers within their community. BYLI creates a platform of exposure to different areas in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, where young leaders acquire skills that they can use to solve social problems.
We talked with the founders of the project Anza Tshipetane and Nnditsheni Netshimbupfe.
Tell what motivated you to do this project.
It is intrinsic motivation that led us to starting this project, after going through primary school and high school we realised that the education system that is received by learners from rural communities is uninspiring and thus the learners do not realise the absolute value of education so we decided to start this organisation that will allow learners from disadvantaged backgrounds to see the bigger picture that comes with education through Science maths technology and engineering.
What about the team? Who is working on the project?
Currently we have a team of 3 people with Anza Tshipetane the founder and CEO of BYLI who oversees every activity and delegates the tasks to the rest of the team members, she is a medical student but she also has her hands full on in the organisation. We also have Nnditsheni Netshimbupfe the Chief financial officer of BYLI who is in charge of the finances in BYLI, she is also a medical student but she is also hard working under BYLI. Last but not least we have Matodzi Malokisa the marketing director of Bright young leaders initiative, he ensures that BYLI is well connected and that we are aware if the current trends, Matodzi is a law Student.
What prospects do you expect from the project?
We strongly believe that there is a great future that lies ahead of BYLI and as we work hard in getting sponsorships we remain expectant that BYLI will have an impact in the whole continent and eventually go beyond Africa to other developed countries and continue sharing the beauty of Education with the less privileged all over the world.
What is the next stage of the project?
The next stage of this project is to collaborate with companies and offer them and opportunity to award bursaries to students on their behalf, this will not only benefit the learners but it will also be a good opportunity for the companies in terms of tax exemption. We are also planning to go above one province and make BYLI a global project as we continue to award scholarships and bursaries to well deserving learners in rural communities.
What other areas in your project would you like to cover?
Learners living under the poverty line in rural areas believe that they will never achieve anything In life or be great, so as BYLI we want to reach out to them and not only to address their educational need but their emotional, social and psychological needs so as to build up well rounded people in the end.
How do you see your project in 3 years?
As we look at the bigger picture we see Bright Young Leaders Initiative impacting over 20000 students in the whole of South Africa and seeing the statistics of dropouts in rural communities decreasing. We aim to see our learners solving problems in the 4th industrial revolution and believing in themselves more.
Where do you get inspiration from?
We get our inspiration from other great people who are leading big companies and universities but we born and bred in rural communities just like us. We also get inspiration from different departments that believe in us and are always willing to open their arms to sponsor us.
How do you think what is the main problem in the sphere in which you work?
The main problem in our sphere of work is mainly finances because we depend on sponsorships and we always hope for the best. We are working hard to get more Grants and other forms of financial support to drive BYLI forward.
Do you have any other ideas or projects for implementation?
Yes we have so many ideas that we are looking forward to one of them being giving out bursaries yearly under BYLI in collaboration with big companies to allow ours students an opportunity to pursue any career in science, mathematics, technology and engineering.