Young Women's Academy for Conscious Change (YWA)

Our Young Women's Academy (YWA) adapts our proven curriculum, providing vulnerable high school girls with the opportunity to advance their own solutions to the social issues that matter most to them. Beginning each January our regional program enables young change agents from Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, and Kenya to promote the physical, educational, social, emotional, and financial well-being of other young women and girls in their communities - and to claim the same for themselves. Our curriculum provides participants with the opportunity to do personal growth work which deepens their sense of agency, courage, and power to act for social change, while our training provides concrete skills and the opportunity to design an individual venture to implement that change. As these new leaders go out into their communities to launch their own ideas for the first time, we offer a safe container for them to process, integrate, and learn from their experiences. We believe this represents a more transformative and comprehensive approach to community development and leadership. Graduates of our YWA tell us that they now know they have the capacity to change their world - with confidence and tools that will guide them throughout their lives.