Smart Youth Volunteers Foundation (SYVF)
Motto: Share your skills, inspire change
Background
What is SYVF?
Smart Youth Volunteers
Foundation (SYVF) is a registered non-profit organization in Ghana dedicated to
providing real opportunities for young people to get involve in voluntary work.
SYVF is committed to serving the needs of children and young people between the
ages of 6 and 25.
Why we do it?
- To promote marine science
education in schools
- To increase the knowledge-base
of young people environmental issues (climate change, pollution,
conservation etc).
- To enable young people take
active part in developmental issues and community work
- To provide opportunity for young people to
fulfil their potential as empowered individuals and members of groups,
communities and the society.
- To incorporate the spirit of voluntarism in young people.
Establishment
Established in January 2005 and became a registered non Governmental Organization (NGO) in August 2006.
Location: Ga East District, Abokobi, Greater-Accra Region, Ghana.
Our vision:
- To assist the youth become responsible, caring individuals and be active in their community.
- To challenge
the youth to involved themselves consciously and actively in their own
development and the development of the society.
Our Values:
- Volunteering - in the sense of
acting out of self-initiative, without seeking material reward and for the
benefit of civil society, as a method and a statement for social change,
whilst never competing with paid labour nor seeking to contribute to
strike-breaking.
- Respect for the Environment – and
the ecosystem of which we are a part and upon which we are dependent.
- Inclusion - to be open and
inclusive to all individuals who share the aims and objectives of the
movement, without regard to gender, race, colour, religion, nationality,
social status or political views and any other possible grounds for
discrimination.
- Empowerment – empowering young
people to understand and act to transform the social, cultural and
economic structures that affect their lives at all levels.
- Co-operation – with
local communities as well as other local, national and international
actors to strengthen the positive potential within civil society as a
whole.
- Participation- Promote the notion that active participation in
community is central to our role as citizens and the involvement of
everyone is essential.
Our mission:
- To build a network of youth volunteers for a better community.
-
To promote the advancement of education in rural
areas.
-
To facilitate active youth participation in
developmental issues.
-
To promote youth-led projects, completion,
awards, and recognition of young people’s positive contribution.
-
To increase collaborations among youth
organizations by sharing information and resources.
Commitment to the mission
involves:
- Providing a variety of a SOCIAL FUNCTIONS (Cultural Programme, Family and Life Skills Programme and Moral Building) through which children and young people may meet and make friends in a wholesome atmosphere.
- Providing EDUCATIONAL
EXPERIENCES (Environmental
Science Programme, Health Programme, and Leadership Skills Programme)
- The development of COMMUNITY SERVICE (Citizenship Programme, Youth Co - Operative
Programme and Agriculture / Horticulture Programme) through clean up
exercise, tree planting and conservation activities.
SYVF has now started a Community Outreach
Program to involve young people in the community education.
The purpose of Community Outreach Program
includes the following
- Building
a capacity of youth volunteers at the community levels.
- Providing
free tuition to children and young people living in rural and pre-urban
areas.
- To promote the advancement of education at rural and pre-urban area.
The program will follow the steps below:
Outreach
program:
An outreach program in rural and pre-urban communities needing support, whereby
a Smart Youth Volunteer teaches English, Maths, Marine Science and Integrated
Science within a flexible schedule. Through this, SYVF aims to ensure that
every single child in the area covered receives education.
Community
support groups:
Support groups consisting of local leaders, youth leaders, students, youth
volunteers and youth club members etc. They will provide support such as
getting out-of-school children to study, and in encouraging parents to send
their children to school. Young people
will be motivated to support the education of children in their community,
thereby strengthening SYVF work, and helping in attaining the goal of universal
elementary education.
Expected
outcome:
- It
fulfilled a latent need in the communities for quality education and
- Also
tapped into the energy and potential of hundreds of young people, who are
willing to promote educational
issues in their neighborhoods.
Planned Future Activities
- Establishment of
youth center (to provide counseling, seminars, etc for young people) at
Abokobi.
- Marine and coastal
environmental education in schools.
- Pollution
monitoring along the coast of Accra.
- Climate Changes
issues (Ocean Acidification) education in schools.
- Anti-Marine Litter
Educational Campaign
Millennium Development Goal (MDGs)
Smart
Youth Volunteers Foundation(SYVF) believes that apart from the government, the youth volunteers in communities also has a
key role to play in making the dream of universal elementary education in
African and Ghana particular a reality.
Our Community Outreach Program is addressing Millennium Development Goal (MDGs)
2.
Contact information
Lailah Gifty Akita
Smart Youth Volunteers Foundation (SYVF),
Lailah Gifty Akita
Smart Youth Volunteers Foundation (SYVF),
P .O. Box OS 2337,
Osu –Accra . Ghana .
Email:
lailah.lailah@gmail.com