Living Networks at Schumacher College - May 2009

A brief about AFRYDEF

 

The African Youth Development Foundation (AFRYDEF) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental development organization established in Nigeria in 1999 to mobilize resources and to promote and support sustainable youth empowerment and rural development initiatives in Africa.

 

Our Mission

 

Our Mission is to cost-effectively empower young people; women and children choose a better future for themselves within a society that enables positive social changes through facilitating sustainable youth and rural development initiatives.

 

Our Vision

 

In AFRYDEF, we envision a society where children, youths and women are viewed as assets and resources, and thus encouraged to develop their full potentials.

 

Our Strategic Objectives

 

Our Strategic Objectives include:

 

·        To contribute to the alleviation of poverty through providing access to formal education and skills training.

·        To strengthen the capacities of primary health care facilities in community health care, HIV/AIDS prevention, counseling and testing.

·        To promote structures, systems and processes that lead to the equitable distribution of resources for accelerated development in the rural areas.

·        To strengthen the capacities of community-based organizations and the civil society in peace building, conflict resolution and development cooperation.

·        To build local capacities for rescue and early response at incidences of epidemic and humanitarian crises.

·        To source and share knowledge and know-how in the field of youth and rural development, with the major aims of informing and influencing public policies and local practice.

 

Our Programmes

 

To achieve our mission and objectives, AFRYDEF adopts a collaborative approach, engaging all levels of society, allowing her to learn and grow through experience while making careful use of available resources.

 

Below are details of our specific programmes and activities:

 

a.)        Improved Community Health Care Services (ICHCS)

 

Goal:

 

The goal of this programme is to ensure the delivery of affordable and qualitative health care services to young people, children and women in the rural areas.

 

Strategies:

 

·        Establish Multi-purpose Clinics for the treatment of women and children’s diseases in the rural areas.

·        Provide family planning and sexual/reproductive health services to youths and women.

·        Provide free health care services to children and women from poor families.

·        Build the capacities of traditional birth attendants and health officers at the primary health centers in handling emergencies and pregnancy related complications.

·        Establish and sponsor a network of health volunteers and care givers.

 

b.)       Care for the Poor and Underprivileged Persons (CPUP)

 

Goal:

 

The ultimate goal of this programme is to meet the needs of the poor and the underprivileged by providing them with food items, clothing, shelter, etc.

 

Strategies:

 

·        Source for and donate food items and clothing to the poor.

·        Raise fund for the construction of homes for indigent families

·        Provide free medical services to beneficiaries of this scheme

·        Recruit volunteer care givers for these services and more.

 

c.)        Education for Life-long Empowerment (ELE)

 

Goal:

 

The goal of this programme is to promote, support and mobilize resources for the empowerment of young people for life through formal education.

 

Strategies:

 

·        Award full and partial post-primary school and university scholarships to children from poor families.

·        Provide free computer training services at our Multi-purpose Skills Development Centers.

·        Provide career counseling for teenagers and graduates of post-primary schools intending to enter high schools and universities.

·        Donate books, computers and other teaching/learning aids to benefiting primary and post-primary schools

·        Assist relevant government agencies and institutions in curriculum development and in teacher training

 

d.)       Mobilizing Communities for HIV/AIDS Prevention (MCHP)

 

Goal:

 

To aggressively reduce the incidences of new HIV and sexually transmitted infections among young people.

 

Strategies:

 

·        Develop and sponsor series of HIV/AIDS testing campaigns to ensure early detection, care and treatment of new infections.

·        Engage all levels of the African society in community advocacy against stigmatization of persons living with HIV/AIDS.

·        Enhance the capacities of government-owned health centers in HIV/AIDS counseling, testing and treatment.

·        Establish multi-purpose HIV/AIDS Resource centers across Africa.

·        Establish and sponsor school-based HIV/AIDS programmes and Awareness clubs.

·        Coordinate the observance of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, the World AIDS Day and other such HIV Awareness events in Africa.

 

e.)        Sustainable Development for Poverty Reduction (SDPR)

 

Goal:

 

To harness the abundant natural resources in Africa for poverty reduction and sustainable rural development.

 

Strategies:

 

·        Mobilize financial and non-financial resources for poverty reduction initiatives in the rural areas.

·        Promote improved agricultural technologies that enhance increased productivity and food security among rural farmers.

·        Establish Multi-purpose Skills Development Centers with Telecenters and rural libraries in selected communities.

·        Initiate and support other programmes for job creation and economic empowerment of women and young people in the rural areas.

·        Promote the use of ICT in development cooperation, sustainable development and poverty reduction

·        Support natural resources and environmental management interventions, including adoption of sustainable energy alternatives

f.)        Preventive Peace building and Conflict Resolution (PPCR)

 

Goal:

 

To promote the use of dialogue, non-violence and alternative dispute resolution processes for building peace in Africa.

 

Strategies:

 

·        Organize sensitization meetings, group discussions and workshops on Strategic non-violence, conflict prevention and alternative dispute resolution processes.

·        Build the capacities of youths and women groups in preventive peace building and conflict resolution in their respective communities

·        Strengthen the capacities of media practitioners and journalists in preventive peace building and development cooperation.

·        Prioritize early warning and early response mechanisms for humanitarian and political crises.