Campaign: Youth Leadership Workshop on Innovative Creative and Innovative Thinking - Liberia

Globally,civil wars have stripped many young people in developing nations of theirchildhood and sometimes their humanity. Conditioned by what they witnessed or by direct involvement asconscripted child soldiers, many still resort to violence as the preferred meansof resolving conflict and solving problems. During peacetime, they are easily persuaded to participate in riots and publicprotests over the lack of jobs or food or education.  A prime example is Liberia,a tiny West African nation that sustained total destruction of itsinfrastructure while civil war raged from 1989 to 2003.  The most devastating losses however were thehopes and dreams of its youth.  Today someyoung Liberians are graduating from college with little chance of findingconventional employment.  The national rateof underemployment/unemployment hovers around 85%.   Many pessimistically believe that their truedestiny is to be a vendor in the already saturated open-air markets.   Such a narrow view can only be broadened byintroducing creative thinking

Ourcrowdfunding project is a revolutionary, invitation-only international youthleadership workshop, to be held on September 13 and14, 2013 in ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Monrovia, Liberia. It will:

• Engage and inspire young Liberians to develop their owngrassroots innovative projects that address problems they would like tosolve.
• Provide a collaborative and supportive space where ouryoung participants can re-light their flame of boundless imagination andcreative spirit that was snuffed out by war and suppressive institutions.
• Guide our young participants to channel their energyinto creative projects that can effect positive change in their lives andthe people around them.
• Assist Liberia’s future leaders, innovators, and educatorsto re-discover their potential and how they can make a difference.

 ECC Youth Group giving a message of hope for their peers in Liberia

Theworkshop will begin with stories of real-life role models—young African boysand girls who broke free of the chains of hopelessness and almost miraculously createdinnovative projects with little or noresources. These amazing youth include:

• William Kawkwamba of Malawi, whosestory is told in his book “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.” In 2001, when only 14years old, he built his first windmill to generate electricity for his house, using his inborn talent, an English-language textbook, and items from a local scrap yard. He did this despite a deadly famine that forced him to drop out ofschool. His second, more powerful windmill was built to help irrigate hisfamily’s maize crops.

• Duro-AinaAdebola, Akindele Abiola and Faleke Oluwatoyin, and Bello Eniola, four teenagegirls from Nigeria who developed a process using human urine—an abundant andrenewable resource—to power a generator with an initial investment of $64. Theyalso found a way to eliminate the smell of “pee” to alleviate the concerns ofworking with a form of human waste.

• KelvinDoe of Sierra Leone, who pulled electronic parts from trash dumps to make hisown battery and generator.  He later createdhis own radio station and took the name “DJ Focus” due to his belief that focusis necessary to develop projects. He was invited to MIT as one of the youngestvisiting inventors after his story was shared on YouTube.

Day1: Our participants will analyze and discuss each of these inspirationalstories, reviewing the resources used and how projects were implemented. They will alsohear from Liberian social innovators like Alfred Sirleaf, who have successfully launched grassrootsinitiatives. After exposure to these examples ofinnovation, they will be encouraged to note down in sketches or words what resourcesthey can access for developing their own projects and addressing the problemsthey hope to solve.

Day2: UDS will provide an open lab environment where our budding inventors canincubate their ideas, to be birthed into viable projects. They will beencouraged to work independently and in groups to conduct experiments using theresources they gathered to test their ideas. Additionally, they will hear aboutopportunities to develop and grow their project from our Liberian partners:

• Accountability Lab will introducetheir Accountapreneurship Funds which provides small grants to “harness thecreativity of citizens to solve problems in their own communities.”

• The Business Start-up Center at theUniversity of Liberia’s main campus, will share their services that “stimulate anddevelop young and ambitious entrepreneurs through Training, business plancompetitions and facilitates access to finance as a way of promoting SME developmentand growth in Liberia.”

Also,UDS will award seed money for the top two collaborative project ideas developedby our young visionaries, who are ready to address the social or economicproblems within their communities. The best two projects will be determined bythe votes of all participants.

Thisis a $2,500 project that will provide (click here to see concept proposal):

• Food and transportation for all participants 
• A one-night stay for the 8 attendees from the ruralareas
• Workshop materials
• Two $200 seed grants
• Other logistical costs

Yourpledge in supporting this project will aid and encourage our emerging youthleaders to explore, develop and implement their creative and innovative ideasthat will help heal and rebuild their nation. No amount is too small to be partof the journey that these young people will take inreclaiming the gift they were born with and to give them the chance to becomecontributing members of their communities and the world.

Listen to what Josh Tabla of the ECC Youth Group has to say about supporting this workshop.

Wevalue your involvement in this project and want to appreciate your pledge asfollows:

• Pledge $5 or more: the Liberianyouth will be forever gratefu

• Pledge $20 or more:

o  The Liberian youth will joyfully sing your name out loud;

o  Your name will be listed on the Uniting Distant Stars sponsorship page for thisworkshop as a supporter.

• Pledge $50 or more:

o  The youth of Liberia will repeatedlychant your name while dancing in jubilation

o  Your name will be listed on theUniting Distant Stars sponsorship page for this workshop as a supporter andincluded on the 2014 annual report.

• Pledge $100 of more:

o  The Liberian youth will consider youas their global auntie and uncle

o  Your name will be listed on theUniting Distant Stars sponsorship page for this workshop, included on the 2014 annualreport, and added to the "banner of hope" that will be displayed duringthis two-day workshop.

Please pledge by check or PayPal byfollowing the instructions below.

Checks: Make out the checks to ECCand put UDS Workshop on the memo Line and send to

UnitingDistant Stars

c/oHeather Cannon-Winkelman

4010Lawndale LN N

Plymouth,MN 55466

*PayPal: Go to www.ebenezercommunitychurch.comand scroll down to Contact Us box on the left hand side. Select Uniting DistantStars in the Donation Category dropdown menu and then click the PayPal button(see image below).

 

*PayPalcharges a 2.2% plus $0.30 per transaction fee that will be deducted from yourdonation.

 Your generous pledge is taxdeductible through our fiscal sponsor Ebenezer Community Church in Brooklyn Park,Minnesota.