By Chalo Mvula
The name YALI network is no longer new to majority of young and ambitious Malawians. Year after year we hear of outstanding young men and women being given opportunity to be mentored into becoming great leaders. The YALI Network is a 700,000 members plus vibrant online community where young African leaders can learn how to effect change around important issues in their communities and improve their leadership skills through tailor-made online content. Recently , Youth worker Migress Jeremiah had a Yali experience which she is sharing with fellow Malawians and the world.
Migress Jeremiah is the founder of Lomfom Foundation that works on empowering girls by providing education resources to enable them continue with their education. She was given opportunity to be on the 8 week program on civic leadership . Speaking to 247Malawi News , Migress said she was thankful for the opportunity Yali gave her “I am thankful for the opportunity to share my YALI experience with you. My special gratitude goes to YALI, and all partners who labour to offer us young African leaders a platform to sharpen our skills towards Africa’s development. I also would like to acknowledge the facilitators, technical team, and communications team who tirelessly guided the entire cohort 1 through the restrictions and huddles of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic”
The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) was launched by the United States of America Government as a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African business and social enterprise leaders launched the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). YALI promotes three models designed to identify and empower young leaders: four Regional Leadership Centers (RLCs), the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) and the YALI Network.
YALI is described as a catalyst for transformational learning and leadership for youth in Africa; a robust program delivered using holistic, interactive, simulations and mentorship approaches.
Migress Jeremiah was born in Blantyre, Malawi. Her cohort comprised of other African young leaders from Kenya , Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria among other and was facilitated by Desiree Mulemfo. Migress Jeremiah, founded LoFom Foundation, a non-profit organisation that provides educational resources in the form of tuition packages, study kits, eco-friendly sanitary accessories, mentorship, and social re-education programs required for underprivileged and socially challenged young female learners to complete their primary and secondary school education in Malawi. The CSO also thrives to advocate for effective policy reforms to improve access to educational and economic opportunities for the socially and economically disadvantaged girls as a way of reducing dropout rates and breaking the poverty cycle.
Migress Jeremiah was invited to be among the four official speakers at the YALI Wide Africa, Cohort 1 graduation ceremony. Representing Southern Africa region, Migress addressed the congregation of 250 Graduates who are actively pursuing social-economic change through various projects in different communities across Africa. Sharing her experience Jeremiah said, “as part of the YALI Cohort 1 program, I was privileged to learn more on civic leadership, specifically on the dynamics of corporate governance, networking, social marketing, as well as the much needed accountability and transparency in driving social change in my country, Malawi”.
Furthermore, in her speech Migress Jeremiah highlighted the need for the graduates to be actively engaged in their communities to make the best use of the knowledge and resources received during the 2 months and 2 weeks program. “As we graduate today, allow me to remind you that together we are YALI, Not because of where we have been, BUT because of what we aspire for our nations to become. We are a community not because of what we are waiting for – but because of what we are going for. With this I hope in a year from now, we will all be celebrated again for adding a new spark of achievements to the alumni community as we drive our projects at a higher level in our respective communities”.
Apart from the YALI Africa facilitators and organizers, the event was also graced by distinguished delegates from USAID and the Mastercard Foundation as the key Sponsors of the prestigious program. In the past LoFom Foundation has managed to provide tuition to girls and low cost study guides. In its upgraded dimension, the organization has innovative projects lined up for its 2022 business year which include sending some of the 230 prospective beneficiaries back to school. In commenting about the CSO’s plan for the near future, Migress said her CSO’s research centered approach will contribute to the knowledge gap in the area of girls empowerment in selected areas with high dropout rates in Malawi. With a team of young professionals who have a rich background in research, communication, culture, gender and sexuality as well as policy in development, LoFom Foundation will soon open its offices in Blantyre, and Lilongwe following Covid-19 regulations.
Born in a family of three, Migress Jeremiah completed her primary and secondary-education in America, and later attended university back in Africa (Monash South Africa). As the Founder of LoFom, her vision is to expand the organization’s scope and quality of impact in providing education and leadership opportunities to female learners up to tertiary level in Malawi.
