Meet the 2026 kanthari course participants
Adbel Nyanzira, 40, Zimbabwe
Empowering abused women economically
Rejected for a chronic skin condition and trapped in abusive marriages, Adbel became one of Zimbabwe’s “returned soldiers,” a derogatory term for women who leave marriages. Having experienced ridicule, exploitation, and isolation herself, she turned informal gatherings at water points into a cleaning service and safe space, linking her own trauma to a project that offers empowerment and support so women can rebuild their lives with dignity.
Assetou Traore, 35, USA (from Mali)
Preventing unsafe youth migration
Abused in childhood and escaping a secret forced marriage, Assetou witnessed how poverty and lack of skills push African youth into deadly illegal migration. Through Pamusant Association, she connects her past to early education and vocational training in trades, enabling teens to build livelihoods at home instead of risking their lives crossing deserts and oceans in search of survival abroad.
Baluku Mikidadi, 37, Uganda
Building resilient livelihoods
Raised amid war, family breakdown, and nights spent in mosques while working as a porter, Baluku saw his community trapped by poverty, floods, and lack of skills. He created the Cammann Charitable Trust Organization CCTO, to translate his survival experience into practical training in computing, carpentry, and crafts, helping youth and women build their own jobs and resilience against recurring disasters.
Cedrick Sokou, 31, Ivory Coast
Reintegrating LGBTQ+ youth
After fleeing his conservative family and facing violence and job loss due to his sexuality, Cedrick recognized a pattern of rejection, school dropout, and joblessness among queer people. With “My School,” he links this experience to a reintegration program combining market-oriented vocational training, leadership, and employment support, aiming to transform marginalized LGBTQ+ youth into confident, economically independent contributors.
Emmanuel Masha, 44, Kenya
Stabilizing farmer incomes
Emmanuel’s fall from middle-income comfort into deep poverty after his parents’ separation and his father’s imprisonment exposed how fragile rural livelihoods are. Through “Korosho ni Mali,” he connects that hardship to building a cashew-processing enterprise and farmer support system, transforming smallholder agriculture into a stable income source so families stop selling land or accepting exploitative work.
Evariste Bizimana, 59, Rwanda
Healing community trauma
Orphaned young and later stripped of everything by the 1994 genocide, Evariste witnessed widespread unresolved trauma and moral suffering among Rwandans. Drawing from years as a social worker, he plans an NGO that channels his own healing journey into awareness campaigns, support groups, and training in emotional intelligence and parenting, addressing deep psychological wounds at family and community level.
George Kakala, 60, Kenya
Supporting disabled children
When his son Kevin was born with a disability, George confronted stigma, exclusion, and the lack of accessible therapy for children like him in poor communities. His Integrated Home and Community Based Rehabilitation (IHCBR) model links this personal experience to training parents and volunteers to deliver simple therapies at home, changing families’ attitudes and integrating disabled children into school and society.
Ian Mugabi, 26, Uganda
Expanding digital education access
Raised by his mother, a hardworking teacher in rural Kagadi, Ian saw youth lose hope in outdated schools lacking electricity, computers and digital skills. Through Rukuzi Learning Bridge, an initiative of Mother Care Education, Sports and Development Initiative, he uses solar-powered, offline digital hubs to close this gap, linking his childhood frustration to inclusive ICT access that empowers teachers and students, including blind, deaf, and slow learners, in remote areas.
Leah Oginga, 27, Kenya
Keeping children in school
Having witnessed firsthand financial instability and its effects, Leah understands how inadequate financial support can hinder children’s education in informal settlements. Her initiative, Education 4 Change, ties her story to scholarship aid, mentorship and empowerment that keep underprivileged learners in school; helping them break the cycle of generational poverty and trauma, through sustainable community support.
Leon Likali, 27, South Sudan
Transforming waste into livelihoods
As a child waste collector who survived a serious car accident while working, Mark saw how plastic pollution and informal waste work endanger both people and the environment. Through Tanina Initiatives, he turns that trauma into a circular-economy venture that converts plastic into building materials, and helping the children and adult waste collectors gets the skills that will enable them gets dignified jobs and affordable housing while reducing flooding and pollution.
Lwando Kazadi, 32, Zambia
Advancing inclusion for gender minority people
Forced to hide his identity in a criminalizing environment, Bupe endured homelessness, exploitation and rejection after relatives learned of his sexual identity. Seeing people from sexual and gender minority communities living with disabilities silenced and excluded from development, he founded THREADS TO KNOTS, a safe skills training and talent hub that turns his struggle into a platform for key and marginalized population economic independence, self-expression, and collective strength.
Njoki Kiarie, 52, Kenya
Supporting prisoners’ families
Njoki’s husband’s imprisonment exposed her to stigma, economic hardship, and the invisible suffering of prisoners’ families, including children turning to drugs. With Unshackled For Life, she transforms her ordeal and counseling background into holistic support, mental health talks, legal aid, and reintegration preparation, aimed at breaking cycles of trauma and restoring dignity to affected households.
Patience Naggayi, 27, Uganda
Supporting maternal recovery
Experiencing pregnancy and postpartum recovery largely on her own, Patience recognized how easily mothers’ well-being can be overlooked while attention centers on a newborn. Her project, Muzukulu, addresses that gap by connecting mothers to a specialized postpartum center offering physiotherapy nutrition guidance, and mental healthcare creating a “village” that honors mothers’ well-being as essential to healthy families.
Primrose Julius, 40, Zimbabwe
Caring for vulnerable elderly
Orphaned and raised in a remote area, Primrose watched her grandparents die from chronic illnesses because clinics were too distant and inaccessible. She now plans a rural home for elderly and disabled people near Headlands, linking her loss to a service that provides medical care, dignity, and life-skills training so vulnerable elders are no longer abandoned.
Rajesh Boddu, 43, India
Creating healing spaces
After an international corporate career, Rajesh faced deep personal adversity and loss, finding resilience through mindfulness and nature-based living. Recognizing India’s lack of safe, judgment-free spaces to escape societal pressures, he aims to address this gap. His mission is to create natural environments that foster ecological awareness, inner healing, and empower individuals to rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose.
Sethok Tinnyan, 31, India
Educating rural youth
Growing up in a low-income family in Arunachal Pradesh, Sethok fought favoritism, language barriers, and pressure to leave school for wage work before becoming his village’s first science-stream student. His “Project Shumhak” links this journey to a residential school and vocational center tackling opium manace, poor infrastructure, and limited livelihoods, offering merit-based education and skills tailored to border communities.
Simon Elive, 42, Cameroon
Training vulnerable youth
After losing his mother and dropping out to work as a laborer, Simon saw single mothers and street children trapped in poverty, worsened by the Anglophone crisis. His vocational center proposal connects his background to free training in fashion, pastry, and ICT plus psychosocial support, empowering women and youth to gain skills, income, and resilience through peer-led learning.
Susan Adina, 56, Kenya
Improving community mental health
Having overcome poverty and domestic violence to become a teacher, Susan still saw trauma repeat in her life and community through male silence, suicide, and mental illnesses. Her dual initiative, GUMZO and a massage therapy enterprise, links those insights to counseling for men and health wellness, turning hopelessness and suppressed emotions into enhanced livelihoods and healthier families.
Thomas Isagara, 30, Uganda
Securing women’s land rights
Witnessing widows dispossessed and children disinherited in Western Uganda, Thomas recognized how customary practices undermine progressive land laws and fuel conflict. His project collaborates with the Tooro Kingdom to document land, issue inclusive Certificates of Customary Ownership, and train local mediators, translating his observations into fairer tenure that protects women and secures family food systems.
Yahaya Yusuf, 47, Nigeria
Promoting sustainable farming
Watching his mother battle failing soils, costly inputs, and harmful chemicals, Yahaya concluded that industrial agriculture exploits smallholder farmers and deepens food insecurity. Through Green Revolutionaries Africa Solutions Plus, he links this experience to training women in agroecology, composting, and cooperative organizing, enabling them to reclaim control over seeds, land, and markets while building climate resilience.