Concerned by the marginalization of young people in governance structures, leading Non- Governmental Organization, Connected Development (CODE) in partnership with YouthHub Africa with support from Christain Aid has launched a nationwide Youth Challenge Fund that will provide Grant to young people to deliver innovative solutions to identified challenges within their communities. 

The project seeks to increase youth participation in community development and ensure youth become partners and leaders in development — where they are charged with creating a sustainable change that is measurable in their community. 

Speaking during the launch, Christian Aid Nigeria’s Country Director, Charles Usie said: “The fund is in recognition of the immense capacity of young people to address some of the growing developmental challenges across communities in Nigeria, if given the opportunity and required resources. We have therefore put this in place as part of our mandate to end poverty in Nigeria.” 

According to the Chief Executive of CODE, Hamzat Lawal, the government must understand the growing importance and potential of young people and consider their contribution to nation building. Lawal called for increased financing, education and technical support for Nigerian youth as this can greatly impact on the future of the country. 

He also urged the Federal Government to fulfil its obligation to the youth by increasing youth participation on all policies that affect young people.

Through funding from  Christian Aid, CODE will sub-grant the selected organisations with a total of Thirty thousand pounds (30,000) for their innovation to solve some of the difficult challenges limiting young people. While many projects of this nature seek to work with young people in the urban areas, the project will work with youths who are typically marginalised, excluded and who otherwise would have limited access to participation.

CODE’s project lead, Lucy James, stated that young people have some of the most promising solutions to contemporary problems and we hope to learn from this, especially from those in the grassroots who have the capacity to act, utilizing their skills and ability to improve their own lives.

The Sub-grantee Organisations:

Foundation for Equitable and Sustainable Human Advancement (FESHA) is a youth led disability inclusion organization focusing on Health, Advocacy, and economic empowerment. It seeks to empower people living with disabilities with information on the provisions of the law, rights and obligations of disabled persons as citizens.

Justice Development and Peace Caritas [JDPC] Nnewi is a Faith Based Organization that has Youth Empowerment and Development as one of the core thematic areas of its operation. It aims to strengthen participation of youths in Government policy implementation for Communal Development and Peace Building.

Women and children in support of community development initiative (WOCCI-Nig) is a national Non-Governmental Organization that seeks to provide community based programs that provide access to education, health, emotional and psychosocial services, and economic opportunities to vulnerable individuals and households. Increased resilience and sustainable livelihood of youths within project communities

Hope For Family Development Initiative (HFDI) is an initiative that seeks to improve the lives of marginalized and vulnerable groups. HFDI believes that marginalized and vulnerable groups are faced with unique issues and challenges which require empowerment, skills acquisition training and better community understanding for them to cope with their exceedingly difficult conditions.

Spotlight for Transparency and Accountability Initiative levitates standard of transparency and accountability in government (subnational governments) through citizen participation in governance. This project seeks to empower young people across 17 LGAs in Yobe State through multidimensional Capacity building on how to hold government to account for their spending using digital technology and improve service delivery on Health, Education and WASH

Access to Learning and School (ATLAS) Initiative is creating a platform called Enriching Lives Through Education (ELiTE) to empower young girls and boys in Ikorodu LGA, aged 17-25 with essential life skills, functional skills and access to platforms for learning – ensuring access to inclusive and equitable quality education.

ABOUT CONNECTED DEVELOPMENT (CODE)

Connected Development [CODE] is a non-governmental organization, whose mission is to improve access to information and empower local communities in Africa. Its initiative, Follow The Money, initiative has tracked government and international aid in grassroots communities to the tune of USD 25 million (in budgeted sums for projects) in over 25 Nigerian States.

ABOUT CHRISTIAN AID

Christian Aid is an international non-governmental organisation that exists to create a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. Christian Aid works in some of the poorest and hardest to reach areas in Nigeria, prioritising those most vulnerable and in need to ensure access to services and opportunities for improved wellbeing. Christian Aid works in the areas of good governance, health and humanitarian response. 

ABOUT YOUTHHUB AFRICA

Youth Foundation for Development, Education & Leadership (YouthhubAfrica) is a non-profit organization founded in 2011. YouthhubAfrica is a platform for young people in Africa involved in social change to interact, learn and collaborate in new, creative and easy ways. It was registered in Nigeria with the CAC in 2014. YHA is a youth advocacy and policy-oriented organization based in Abuja, Nigeria, but programming into Africa and beyond.

Connected Development is an initiative that is passionate about empowering marginalised communities.