The 21st Century is emerging as the make-or-break climax of relations between the “have” and “have not” nations of the world.  While the planet is drawn tighter by instantaneous electronic communications, over one billion people live in extreme poverty, on a daily thread between life and death. It is a monument then to Mankind’s tenacious survival urge that only an estimated eight-plus million die each year as they are too poor to stay alive. 
Ref.: The End of Poverty, Sachs, J. (2006).

Yet, in many regions – Africa among them – the combination of endemic poverty, illiteracy, corrupt power structure, and age-old cultural and religious animosities, fed by third party influences seeking economical access to abundant natural resources, has repeatedly lead to the obliteration of human rights, war and wide-scale killing as means to achieve the ultimately pointless end of political expediency.

Students at work, YHRI Ghana workshop, La Paz district, Accra, March 22, 2007

Africa represents the worst and the best in humanity.  Land of some of the most infamous atrocities since the close of World War II, its people are by-and-large overwhelmingly ready and willing to work for and secure improving survival for themselves, their communities and the continent’s population as a whole.  Yet, while the “demand for change” is palpable, the question is whether Africa’s nations and cultures will be able through acquisition of workable know-how and through actual delivery of that knowledge – buttressed by ethical, effective leadership and organization – to actually pull out of the repeating cycle and dwindling spiral of polarization, violence and prevailing destruction.

YHRI’s human rights leadership campaign for Africa is dedicated to fueling not just the inspiration that inevitably comes from dissemination of its powerful and effective educational materials – in particular its Thirty Rights DVD and the United Human Rights Handbook and accompanying teaching tools – but to helping train and equip youth with the tools necessary to play key roles in the creation and expansion of just and prosperous societies in Africa over the coming critical decades.

United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), Congo Town, Liberia, July 7, 2007

American Tim Bowles, YHRI’s Director for International Development has driven this campaign through five trips to West Africa since 2005 . Ghanaian Sammy Jacobs-Abbey and Liberian Jay Yarsiah, YHRI program directors for sub-Saharan Africa and West Africa respectively, have effected the majority of planning and execution on the ground.  With volunteer aid from enthusiastic YHRI local chapter members, Tim, Sammy and Jay are currently running pilot leadership programs in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, three nations in very different stages of economic and social recovery from respective years of civil strife and might-makes-right military predominance.

As described in the accompanying specific descriptions for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone,  the program in each country is proceeding through collaboration of high school/secondary school human rights clubs and mentoring college-level student leaders. In each nation, these high school and college-age youth are participating in a series of competitions on human rights activism and advocacy with encouraging results. With ample funding and expanding support, there is every reason to expect this winning combination can stand as a model for leadership development across the breadth of Africa.

Girl at YHRI Liberia human rights education workshop, Gbarnga, Liberia, March 31, 2007	Street scene, Freetown, Sierra Leone, July 11, 2007	Student at human rights leadership and public speaking workshop, June 28, 2007