The 2016 edition of Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative Fellows/Alumni Ford Foundation Grantees convened recently at the Ford Foundation Lagos office for presentation of their pet projects and feedback. Senior Correspondent, ONYEWUCHI OJINNAKA, captured the event.
Ford Foundation, in collaboration with The Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative (CYFI) – a project of the United States Consulate General in Lagos – recently assembled the CYFI fellows/Ford Foundation grantees at the Ford Foundation Corporate office, Ikoyi, Lagos. CYFI fellows and alumni were to engage in a vigorous discussion with Ford Foundation grantees who may be interested in mentoring or offering internship to the highly-inspired young fellows.
According to CYFI Programme Director, Patrick Cunningham, the dynamic youth-based initiative was launched in 2011 by the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos, to bring together Nigerian youths of exceptional vision, skills and experience to design and implement projects that would have positive impact on the society.
CYFI Board of Directors, in conjunction with the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos, he said, select fellows who demonstrate exceptional vision, skills and experience, and group them into teams based on interest.
The teams, he added, would then develop and implement their own youth engagement projects during the one-year fellowship.
In addition to working with their teams to bring their project into fruition, CYFI fellows have the opportunity to attend various networking events, round-tables and fora on relevant social issues hosted by the U.S. Consulate General.
“The Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative seeks to develop a select group of young Nigerians into ethical and impactful leaders by connecting them with mentorship, networking, training and funding opportunities over the course of an intensive fellowship year.
“The CYFI fellowship is built around year-long social innovation projects that are designed by fellows and supported by the U.S. Consulate and private partners. Following successful completion of their projects, fellows remain involved with CYFI and the U.S. Consulate through the CYFI Alumni Program.
“Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, after whom the CYFI was named, was a champion of civil liberties, democracy and closer ties between the U.S. and Nigeria,” Cunningham said.
Benefits
Some of the benefits derivable from CYFI include: executing concrete, youth-oriented solutions to issues that concern them; accessing U.S. government resources and contacts; catching the attention of American and Nigerian leaders in the public and private sectors; working alongside talented and motivated peers with diverse backgrounds, but similar visions, and participating in CYFI alumni programmes.
In her welcome remarks, Meghan Luckett of the U.S. Consulate said CYFI is a project of the Consulate which oversees the funding and application of the take-off grants to the grantees, and ensuring that they develop viable project ideas that would impact positively on the society.
Ford Foundation’s representative for West Africa, Innocent Chukwuma, told TheNiche that CYFI is a way of contributing to the empowerment of the teeming population of young people in Nigeria.
Various estimates put the number to between 82 million and 100 million very vibrant, willing and able youths who lack the opportunities to self-actualise and contribute to the development of the country.
Carrington was United States ambassador to Nigeria during the time of Sani Abacha. He contributed a lot to the development of civil society in Nigeria.
Recruitment of the fellows
TheNiche checks reveal that the fellows are recruited through a very competitive process. According to Chukwuma, over 1,000 people applied for the 2016 edition, and about 20 were selected. The actual recruitment is done by the U.S. Consulate after advertising for the vacancies asking young people with certain age to apply. The applications are scrutinised to identify the best.
Empowerment
This weekly gathered that N1 million is allocated to each team for its pet project to enable the teams implement their ideas within the fellowship period. They also ask for funds from corporate organisations and contribute their own resources to the actualisation of their projects.
For Ford Foundation, it is a privilege working with young people as future leaders. The Foundation provides the platform to develop the resources of development which are the people because “if you do not develop them, then you will not tap into them”.
In the process of developing young people by organising such a forum, Chukwuma said: “Our partners and grantees who are at the forefront of social change in Nigeria and those very experienced in the social change will listen to their pet project ideas through questions, comments and clarifications, help in firming up the ideas by asking them questions that enable them to deeply think about the ideas and the risks they are going to face.”
The projects
At the event, five groups of visionary young Nigerians made presentations of their pet projects. After each presentation, the grantees commented on the project ideas and suggested how to improve on them. Team A’s project was on photography of Makoko, a riverine area of Ebute-Metta, Lagos. The concept is that the environment would be lucrative for photography business, given the natural endowments that abound in that area.
Team B dwelt on education of the low-income group from Ajegunle, Lagos. The survey showed that a lot of people do not go to school. More importantly, the government of the area does not pay much attention to dilapidated school infrastructure.
Team C based its project on good governance at the grassroots, and Takwa Bay community is the choice area. Government’s neglect of the area was brought to focus, despite that they pay tax.
Known as Awoye Health Initiative, Team D anchored its project on health in Oworonsoki, Bariga area of Lagos State. This team trained about 10 community members on primary health care.
For Team E, a Remand Home in Port Harcourt was its project. It educated the inmates of the home on social behaviour, career development and skill acquisition, so that they will be useful to themselves and the society at large when they come out. With the skills they acquired, they can easily be rehabilitated and assimilated into the society.
At the end of the programme, the teams would have gotten not just expert feedback but have gone through experimental learning and would have gotten ideas of what it looks like when it is done.