African Changemakers Leadership (ACLeads) Forum by ACFellows- Tanzania

African Changemakers Leadership (ACLeads) Forum – Tanzania was conducted on Friday 2^nd of March, where Rehema Sanga and Happiness Shuma met at Spurs Restaurant in Dar es Salaam city at 5pm in the evening.

Prior our meeting we had started various discussions online via WhatsApp group with the rest of the Tanzanian ACFellows. On  the meetup event we got to know each other better and understand what everyone of us is doing to bring change in our communities, Rehema Sanga is Founder and Director of Little Millennium Community School which is Early Childhood  Development Center, while Happiness Shuma who is a full-time employee engages herself on Youth mentoring focusing young girls students from high school on areas such as carrier development, leadership and personal growth. We discussed issues that affects our communities and how we could bring change in our communities in the little ways that we could.

Currently Rehema Sanga has launched a program called Uchumi Club. This is why she started the program,

Youth unemployment is a growing problem in Tanzania. The United Republic of Tanzania is home to one of the largest youth populations in the world. It is the 10th largest youth population. 47% of the population is under 15, and 66% under the age of 25 years. A generation of this size brings with it an abundance of raw potential, and the opportunity to cultivate their abilities as a vital development resource. However, this group is particularly vulnerable to marginalization, lack of education and exploitation. The unemployment rate among the youth stands at 53.3%. Only 4% of young people access micro-credit. Literacy rate of 15- 25 year old is at 77.4%. It is vital that the problems these young people face are fully understood in order to secure a positive future for Tanzania. The problems and challenges that this group face must be confronted now in order to prevent a future of forgotten adults. Investment in youth will materialize into poverty alleviation, sustainable development and a peaceful nation. I have started a programme called Uchumi Clubs• (Economy Clubs). These are functional extra-curricula youth clubs formed in schools and colleges in Tanzania as formal education system. The core function of Uchumi Clubs is the development and promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship. The aim of the clubs is to facilitate a smooth transition of youth from school-to-work. I am passionate about this programme and using my leadership skills, we are creating partnerships to achieve it.

The ACFellows in Tanzania selected Uchumi Club as a county Project for ACfellows to collaborate and work together, the project (Uchumi club) is aimed at Empowering Women and Youth on Entrepreneurship and Financial Education.