Young Women at the UNCSW
Donation protected
Support Young Women who are Passionate about Improving Women’s Lives!
We are a group of 5 young women studying at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda who have been afforded an opportunity to attend the 63rd United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW).The conference will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 March 2019.
However, to be able to attend the conference, we need to raise $6000 to be able to cover air transport, accommodation and food costs for the duration of the conference.
Who are we?
We are five 2nd year students at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda studying Global Challenges and International Business and Trade. Amongst us we have activists, a start-up founder, storytellers and business leaders.
Here is a short breakdown of who we are.
1. JerryLynn Kariuki- Kenya
JerryLynn is a content creator, avid storyteller, and a charismatic social activist. She is passionate about creating content that will influence perceptions and policies on gender matters while maintaining relevance to urban African communities. She is the creator and author of "Diaryof1000girls" blog on WordPress and two publications on medium "Theories by Jerry" and "2 to 3 decades".
She believes in harnessing the power of storytelling to educate communities on harmful social norms, gender stereotypes and spread social awareness. Her interest in advocacy and education earned her a position in the Academic Affairs Committee as the representative for the Global Challenges Degree Programme.
JerryLynn is skilled in organizing, mobilizing, and hosting community activities. she gained this skills from working as a peer counselor, mobilizing participation in advocacy events such The Day of the Girl Child 2018, organizing ALU spirit week, for two consecutive years, and starting Sips and Spills, a monthly conversation hub that discusses topics relevant to young people. She is also experienced in marketing and public communication as a result of interning with the Brand and Marketing team at Cellulant and her current position as a marketing intern at the African Leadership University.
2. Mardiya Siba-Yahaya- Ghana
Mardiya is a creative writer, a feminist and her own revolution. In between school work and reading African and Feminist literature, she writes articles that highlight issues in gender, politics, media, and education. Her articles have been featured in reputable feminist publications such as Women's Media Center and Ananke Magazine.
Mardiya is interested using exponential technologies such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence for social and economic impact in Africa, and is the co-founder of Blockchain Launchpad. She has extensive experience in digital advocacy and marketing as a result of interning at Ananke Magazine and L'Oréal West Africa. She is also a member of the Social Transformation Committee, a Student Representative Council body at ALU Rwanda that is tasked with designing social justice awareness campaigns.
Mardiya will be representing ALU Rwanda at the World Government Summit in Dubai on 10th - 12th of February 2019.
3. Alice Magaka- Tanzania
Alice Magaka has always been on the move to make her community a better place. The 22-year-old young leader kicked off her journey in 2016 after attending the African Leadership Academy Model African Union Conference (ALAMAU), where she had deep conversations on how to make Africa a better place with other young game-changers from across the continent. This led her to make an extra push as she was appointed to become the chairperson of a charity club in her school which led her to realising that her passion lay in helping the needy population.
Alice is an outstanding Menstrual Hygiene Management advocate. She is the founder of an award-winning initiative called “The Pink Box Project” that aims to end period stigma by advocating for creative ways to deliver menstrual hygiene education to primary and secondary school students. She also incorporates creative approaches to involve young men in menstrual hygiene thus catalyzing her commitment to improving the reproductive health of young people. She possesses a proven track of commitment to assisting girls in understanding their changing bodies by delivering a basic menstrual hygiene education package.
Her efforts have contributed to being awarded by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II through The Queen’s Young Leaders Awards 2018, and by ALU as a top 3 finalist at the ALU Innovate Festival.
4. Charlene Migadde-Kenya
Charlene is an entrepreneur, solution creator and consultant. She is extremely passionate about the ways in which entrepreneurship can empower people and change lives. Using this passion she designed a solution that would transform the way millions of people would access clean and renewable fuel solving the fact that 4 million people die every year from indoor air pollution due to a lack of access to clean fuel. She set out to start Nishati Power. Nishati Power participated in a Global competition know as Hult Prize in which they were a Finalist at both Regional and National Level.
Charlene has consulted and worked for many companies from diverse fields across East Africa helping them develop sustainable solutions with great impact. Companies such as Trust Industries - Rwanda, The Elephant Queen - Kenya and Investment Access Group - Zimbabwe.
Recently, while interning with the African Leadership Finance Company, Charlene designed a Financial Literacy Course aimed at empowering young people on the essence of Financial Literacy enabling them to be at the driver's seat of their financial freedom.
5. Garnett Achieng’-Kenya
Garnett is a creative writer, researcher, and storyteller. As a result of an upbringing in a community steeped in patriarchy, she was naturally pushed into gender justice and women’s empowerment. She is passionate about using storytelling to highlight struggles of African women and LGBTQ identifying people. Her mission is to produce literary works that uplift and empower African women.
She sits on the Editorial Board at Women's Media Center- The F-Bomb, an intersectional teen feminist media platform created by and for socially conscious youth. She is also a member of the Student Representative Council at ALU Rwanda, where is the Social Transformation Committee Head. Here she has led the execution of several social justice awareness campaigns such as International Mental Health Day 2018.
Garnett has extensive experience in writing and editing as a result of being the former Media Head for Sub-Saharn Africa at Maverick Youth, an online publication that gives voice to the youth. She also consistently published articles on study abroad on Capital FM Kenya's blog, Capital Campus.
Why do we need to attend the conference?
Attending the 63rd UNCSW conference is important to us because:
This year’s theme: Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; is one that resonates with us. Engaging with this theme will be an opportunity for us to contribute to the discussion and make voices of young African women heard.
The conference has educational value to us as Global Challenges and IBT students. This conference will afford us with a once-in a-lifetime learning opportunity. Ultimately, we plan to hold workshops on campus to share with our peers what we will learn at the conference.
As aspiring leaders in the field of gender, this opportunity will allow us to interact with government representatives and NGOs that are already working in the sector. The networking opportunity at the conference is an invaluable one to our career trajectories.
How can you support us?
You can support us by donating to our fund. You can also help us by sharing this page with your networks.
We are a group of 5 young women studying at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda who have been afforded an opportunity to attend the 63rd United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW).The conference will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 March 2019.
However, to be able to attend the conference, we need to raise $6000 to be able to cover air transport, accommodation and food costs for the duration of the conference.
Who are we?
We are five 2nd year students at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda studying Global Challenges and International Business and Trade. Amongst us we have activists, a start-up founder, storytellers and business leaders.
Here is a short breakdown of who we are.
1. JerryLynn Kariuki- Kenya
JerryLynn is a content creator, avid storyteller, and a charismatic social activist. She is passionate about creating content that will influence perceptions and policies on gender matters while maintaining relevance to urban African communities. She is the creator and author of "Diaryof1000girls" blog on WordPress and two publications on medium "Theories by Jerry" and "2 to 3 decades".
She believes in harnessing the power of storytelling to educate communities on harmful social norms, gender stereotypes and spread social awareness. Her interest in advocacy and education earned her a position in the Academic Affairs Committee as the representative for the Global Challenges Degree Programme.
JerryLynn is skilled in organizing, mobilizing, and hosting community activities. she gained this skills from working as a peer counselor, mobilizing participation in advocacy events such The Day of the Girl Child 2018, organizing ALU spirit week, for two consecutive years, and starting Sips and Spills, a monthly conversation hub that discusses topics relevant to young people. She is also experienced in marketing and public communication as a result of interning with the Brand and Marketing team at Cellulant and her current position as a marketing intern at the African Leadership University.
2. Mardiya Siba-Yahaya- Ghana
Mardiya is a creative writer, a feminist and her own revolution. In between school work and reading African and Feminist literature, she writes articles that highlight issues in gender, politics, media, and education. Her articles have been featured in reputable feminist publications such as Women's Media Center and Ananke Magazine.
Mardiya is interested using exponential technologies such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence for social and economic impact in Africa, and is the co-founder of Blockchain Launchpad. She has extensive experience in digital advocacy and marketing as a result of interning at Ananke Magazine and L'Oréal West Africa. She is also a member of the Social Transformation Committee, a Student Representative Council body at ALU Rwanda that is tasked with designing social justice awareness campaigns.
Mardiya will be representing ALU Rwanda at the World Government Summit in Dubai on 10th - 12th of February 2019.
3. Alice Magaka- Tanzania
Alice Magaka has always been on the move to make her community a better place. The 22-year-old young leader kicked off her journey in 2016 after attending the African Leadership Academy Model African Union Conference (ALAMAU), where she had deep conversations on how to make Africa a better place with other young game-changers from across the continent. This led her to make an extra push as she was appointed to become the chairperson of a charity club in her school which led her to realising that her passion lay in helping the needy population.
Alice is an outstanding Menstrual Hygiene Management advocate. She is the founder of an award-winning initiative called “The Pink Box Project” that aims to end period stigma by advocating for creative ways to deliver menstrual hygiene education to primary and secondary school students. She also incorporates creative approaches to involve young men in menstrual hygiene thus catalyzing her commitment to improving the reproductive health of young people. She possesses a proven track of commitment to assisting girls in understanding their changing bodies by delivering a basic menstrual hygiene education package.
Her efforts have contributed to being awarded by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II through The Queen’s Young Leaders Awards 2018, and by ALU as a top 3 finalist at the ALU Innovate Festival.
4. Charlene Migadde-Kenya
Charlene is an entrepreneur, solution creator and consultant. She is extremely passionate about the ways in which entrepreneurship can empower people and change lives. Using this passion she designed a solution that would transform the way millions of people would access clean and renewable fuel solving the fact that 4 million people die every year from indoor air pollution due to a lack of access to clean fuel. She set out to start Nishati Power. Nishati Power participated in a Global competition know as Hult Prize in which they were a Finalist at both Regional and National Level.
Charlene has consulted and worked for many companies from diverse fields across East Africa helping them develop sustainable solutions with great impact. Companies such as Trust Industries - Rwanda, The Elephant Queen - Kenya and Investment Access Group - Zimbabwe.
Recently, while interning with the African Leadership Finance Company, Charlene designed a Financial Literacy Course aimed at empowering young people on the essence of Financial Literacy enabling them to be at the driver's seat of their financial freedom.
5. Garnett Achieng’-Kenya
Garnett is a creative writer, researcher, and storyteller. As a result of an upbringing in a community steeped in patriarchy, she was naturally pushed into gender justice and women’s empowerment. She is passionate about using storytelling to highlight struggles of African women and LGBTQ identifying people. Her mission is to produce literary works that uplift and empower African women.
She sits on the Editorial Board at Women's Media Center- The F-Bomb, an intersectional teen feminist media platform created by and for socially conscious youth. She is also a member of the Student Representative Council at ALU Rwanda, where is the Social Transformation Committee Head. Here she has led the execution of several social justice awareness campaigns such as International Mental Health Day 2018.
Garnett has extensive experience in writing and editing as a result of being the former Media Head for Sub-Saharn Africa at Maverick Youth, an online publication that gives voice to the youth. She also consistently published articles on study abroad on Capital FM Kenya's blog, Capital Campus.
Why do we need to attend the conference?
Attending the 63rd UNCSW conference is important to us because:
This year’s theme: Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; is one that resonates with us. Engaging with this theme will be an opportunity for us to contribute to the discussion and make voices of young African women heard.
The conference has educational value to us as Global Challenges and IBT students. This conference will afford us with a once-in a-lifetime learning opportunity. Ultimately, we plan to hold workshops on campus to share with our peers what we will learn at the conference.
As aspiring leaders in the field of gender, this opportunity will allow us to interact with government representatives and NGOs that are already working in the sector. The networking opportunity at the conference is an invaluable one to our career trajectories.
How can you support us?
You can support us by donating to our fund. You can also help us by sharing this page with your networks.
Co-organizers (5)
Garnett Achieng
Organizer
Stony Point, NY
Mardiya Titi Siba
Co-organizer
Jerry Kariuki
Co-organizer
Julia Paolillo
Co-organizer
Charlene Migadde
Co-organizer