The Project Pakati Youth Advisory Board played an important role in the governance of the project. The board was intentionally constituted at the start of the grant project to provide strategic inputs and provide overall guidance of the project and its implementation. 

Two ex officio members sat on the board in addition to the eminent young Africans. They were AFLI staff member and Project Manager Monique Atouguia; the other was a member of the African Union Commission’s Youth Division.

The Advisory board members also served on various project committees, depending on where their expertise lay.  The board provided guidance to the small staff that implemented Project Pakati.

The Youth Advisory Board

Raphael Obonyo, Kenya

Raphael ObonyoRaphael Obonyo is a multi-award winning public policy specialist and youth advocate at the national, regional and international levels. He is the author of Conversations about the Youth in Kenya.

He is the co-founder of a number of community and youth-led initiatives including the Youth Congress, a premier youth-led organization in his home country. He has extensive knowledge and experience in public policy, international development, political economy, governance and human rights.

Mr Obonyo is the 2018 recipient of the United Nations Africa Renewal Young African Achiever; and 2017 Leader of the Year by Africa Youth Awards; the 2017 Pan African Humanitarian Award; and the 2016 Best Communicator in Kenya, by Daily Nation. In 2016, he was named one of the UN Persons of the Year. Also, he received the 2016 Utumushi Bora Exemplary Leadership Award for his contribution to mentorship and people’s empowerment. He teaches International Youth Policy ast Brandeis University and is a Ford Foundation Fellow.

Carol Ndosi, Tanzania

Carol NdosiCarol Ndosi is a media personality with over seven years’ media experience. In 2007, she became a freelance events planner and manager, and in 2011, launched her own event management company. The company, Alta Vista Events, is the sole proprietor of the largest barbecue festival in East and Central Africa, The Nyama Choma Festival. The platform has encouraged and promoted entrepreneurship and inclusion of SMEs and local brands giving them visibility and providing opportunities for employment.

Carol was chosen for the Young African Leaders Initiative - Mandela Washington Fellowship Program Cohort of 2016. She is the Co-Founder of a digital solution called KilimoUza, an application and website connecting farmers through SMS. Carol has also co-founded the Launch Pad Tanzania, which is a professional and personal development hub, focusing on youth and women empowerment through skills development and economic empowerment programs.

Carol is a Global Goals Champion with the United Nations Tanzania. She was voted and chosen as a ‘Woman of Influence’ for Malkia Wa Nguvu Awards 2018. She was also listed among 25 young emerging female leaders by Amazons Watch Magazine in 2017.

Jacob Paarechuga Anankware, Ghana

Jacob Paarechuga Anankware PhDJacob Paarechuga Anankware PhD is the Founder and CEO of AnePaare Farms, where he focuses on insect rearing for food, feed and nutrition. Jacob is an entomologist by training, with multiple degrees and a Post-doctoral scholar. He has also been a visiting scholar at Purdue University.

He is passionate about malnutrition, food insecurity and poverty alleviation. Jacob is Ghana’s first and only entomophagical entomologist and has leveraged his expertise in entomology to rear nutritious and healthy edible insects like the palm weevil larva (Akokono) to reduce malnutrition and iron-deficiency anaemia in Africa. He also rears the larvae of the black soldier fly as a sustainable protein for animal feed.

His innovative ideas earned him a recognition by the US government and he was selected among 40 young Ghanaian entrepreneurs and leaders from more than 68,000 applications to be trained in the USA as a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellow.

He returned to Ghana from the USA to impact society through his disruptive innovation and business approach. He is currently a lecturer at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, and is pursuing a program at the University of Oxford, UK. He has more than 20 publications to his credit.

Rumbidzo Gunduza, Zimbabwe

Rumbidzo GunduzaRumbidzo Gunduza is a female student at the University of Zimbabwe completing an Honours degree in Sociology.

She is a Board member of Precious Stones Foundation, which focuses on assisting women and girls through life skills training and community advocacy. Rumbidzo is also part of the committee responsible for organizing its annual International Convention named the Precious Stones Women and Girls International Convention.

She is Africa’s AU Youth Ambassador for Zimbabwe for the international organisation, ONE. She was a runner-up in the ONE Big Idea Continental competition. She helps with coordinating continental activities in social development with other ambassadors from ONE.

She is also also the ambassador for a local organization called Women Excel. It is a women empowerment organization that supports women socio-economically by creating connections and network opportunities for women in the work force. She is the founder and president of Young Excel Club at the University of Zimbabwe. Rumbidzo also writes and performs original work for festivals, television programs, and shows.

Amir Ben Ameur, Tunisia

Amir Ben AmeurAmir Ben Ameur is a social activist, an advocate for youth development and democracy, and founder of the national youth umbrella organization called WeYouth. WeYouth is a non-governmental organization that promotes youth participation in decision-making, leadership, education, and civic engagement.

He has directed several projects within his organization on gender advocacy, government transparency, and political accountability. Amir chaired a national campaign that aimed to provide information and raise awareness on the 2014 electoral process, targeting citizens located in neglected rural areas of Tunisia, which was funded by UNDP and MEPI.

In October 2014, Amir was elected to the UN Habitat International Youth Advisory board, where he served as post-conflict advisor. He is also a charter member of World Learning Global Advisory Board. Amir has worked as a consultant and counter-violent extremism practitioner for a number of national and international organizations including UN agencies, the World Bank Group, the US chamber of Commerce.

He is a recipient of a fellowship from the American Middle Eastern Network for Dialogue at Stanford, a Young Activist Award from Municipality of Istanbul, an Arab-African Youth Award, and a Youth Leadership program fellowship.

Roseline Zahui, Cote d’Ivoire

Roseline ZahuiRoseline Zahui is a Project Manager with more than seven years of experience in Project/Program Management in fields such as Environment, Health, Education, and Security and Governance. She is currently running an NGO for people living with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) in Cote d’Ivoire called AMICI.

She has worked with vulnerable populations such a children and youth; and women and disabled people. She was selected as an environmental expert by UNIDO for a project in partnership with the Ministry of Environment of Cote d’Ivoire.

She has a keen interest in Youth Education, especially for young people from French-speaking countries. Many opportunities are available on internet, but because they are in English, they are hidden from the majority of French-speaking young people and even more so from girls who do not reach high levels of education. Roseline is exposing to them new education offers in French to help them access knowledge from different countries.

She is a 2012 Moremi Fellow and a 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow.

Mwesigye Patrick, Uganda

Patrick MwesigyeMwesigye Patrick is the Founder and Team Leader of the Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum (UYAHF). UYAHF is a dynamic youth-led and youth-serving health and human rights organization that seeks to create a world where adolescent girls and young women are empowered to live quality lives with equity, dignity and opportunities to realize their full potential.

Meswigye has passionately championed health and well-being issues of adolescent girls and young women through policy advocacy and influencing, community mobilization, engagement and behavior change information and human rights.

Mwesigye has extensive knowledge in advocacy and programing for adolescent health and well-being, gender equality and women empowerment and promotion of youth livelihoods. He has also supported and established leadership and functionality for several national, regional and global youth networks that are today playing a leading role in advocacy for meaningful youth participation in various policy and programing processes.

Some of these networks include AfriYAN East and Southern Africa; Kampala Youth Advocacy Network; PMNCH Adolescent and Youth Constituency; African Union Youth Advisory Board; WHO Africa - Adolescent Health flagship Program, Youth Champions; and, He Decides Youth Movement.

Wadi Ben-Hirki, Nigeria

Wadi Ben HirkiWadi Ben-Hirki is the Founder of Wadi Ben-Hirki Foundation, a registered charity that impacts the lives of people through three major projects: Street2School, GirlsNotWives and LITMOW (Love In The Midst Of War).

In July 2016, her foundation launched a social enterprise named Sapphire by WBHF to help raise funds for the foundation’s community projects. She is also the Founder of Sheroes by WBH which is an empowerment initiative for girls and women. Wadi serves as a Champion for the ONE Campaign in Nigeria and Ashoka Changemaker Fellow.

She has received considerable recognition, including: Her Network Woman of the Future Award 2017; The Ebony Life TV Sisterhood Advocate and People’s Choice of the Year Awards 2017; Top 10 young people in Africa working towards achieving Gender Justice and Reconciliation Award from the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, South Africa; Covenant University Class of 2017 Philanthropist of the Year & Top 10 Influencers list; Civil Society Award 2017 for Peace Building; Impacting Young Female Leader in Africa 2017 by One World Foundation; second runner-up Africa Peace builder Award 2016 by World Peace Initiative Foundation; and Nigerian Teen Choice Awards Philanthropist of the Year 2015. 

She was recently nominated for the 2018 Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Nigeria Award and Global Peace & Humanitarian Award 2018.

Maudo Jallow, The Gambia

Maudo JallowMaudo Jallow is a Gambian development economist that currently works with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as an International Development Expert.

Working under the direct supervision of the Director of the UNIDO New York Office, Maudo conducts research, participates in inter-governmental meetings relevant to UNIDO's mandate, advocates for sustainable industrial development, and works to strategically position UNIDO vis-à-vis Member States.

Maudo also does development work in his native country of The Gambia. He is the founder of New Nation, a youth-led initiative that works to promote youth development and the prioritization of structurally transformative policies.

Maudo’s passion for socio-development on the African continent has not gone unnoticed, as he was recently selected as a contributor for Future Africa Forum. He is an alumnus of the LSE Programme for African Leadership and has spoken at several conferences on Africa, including at the University of Manchester and Cambridge University.

In the recent past, Maudo has worked for the LSE Africa Summit as a Co-Director; and at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), as part of the Social Policy & Development research team in Geneva. His research and professional work focus on domestic resource mobilization, industrialization and social policy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ellen Sia Wongo, Sierra Leone

Ellen Sia WongoEllen Sia Wongo has worked for the West African Civil Society Institute in Ghana as a Programme Assistant in the Policy, Advocacy and Influencing Unit. Previously, she worked for Christian Aid Sierra Leone as Programme Support in the Health Unit.  She is the country’s representative for the International Youth Federation (IYF), working for the interests of young people and making a change in society.  Ellen has worked with several developmental organizations for the past seven years both in and outside of Sierra Leone either by volunteering, as an intern and a permanent employee.

She is a graduate of the Institute of Public Administration and Management at the University of Peace in Sierra Leone and also from Fourah Bay College at the University of Sierra Leone, with a Masters degree in Governance and Leadership. She also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Peace-Related Studies.  Her BA is in History and Politics and she has a Diploma in Peace and Conflicts Studies.

Ellen is passionate about programmes, policy influencing, report writing, advocacy, and project management and enjoys working in the field with deprived communities. She believes it is important that everybody within deprived communities have access to basic necessities and also good governance. She is an advocate for grassroots access to the process and activities going on around communities. Ellen has also taken several lead roles in field work and research within and out of Sierra Leone.

Ellen has participated in mentorship programs for her community, and working with youth groups around Africa.  For the past three years, she has actively engaged more than 100 youths with good results, some of whom had previously dropped out of school due to poverty or family issues. Due to her mentorship programme, 60% of these young people are still at school while the rest are in skills development programmes.

Kadidiatou Sako Traore, Mali

Kadidiatou Sako TraoreKadidiatou Sako Traore is a Deputy Secretary in charge of promoting girls and gender on the National Youth Council of Mali. In this capacity, she is the National Youth Representative delegated to the Ministry for the promotion of women, children and families. In her role, Kadidiatou takes part directly in the process of the adoption of laws on gender-based violence.

In July 2017, she was selected as “Young Ambassador for Peace” by the Universal Peace Federation in Mali. This was as a result of her work in encouraging campaigns on themes such as character education in families and communities, sexual restraint before marriage, violence in schools, civility, and the fight against drugs and other narcotics.

Her daily actions consist of promoting good governance, encouraging young people to become true citizens and reinforcing their technical skills in order to face the challenges of their duty and their right.

As an alumnus of YALI Leadership Center, she remains engaged in campaigns against scourges like gender-based violence and female genital mutilation, which is still practiced in Mali, her home country. She is also working against the marriage of young girls, often against their will.

Erick Muzyamba, Zambia

Erick MuzyambaErick Muzyamba is a researcher and health rights activist currently serving as a district Programs Coordinator for the Zambia Centre for Communication Programs [ZCCP/KWATU] in Kapiri Mposhi, Central Zambia. His primary task is to mobilize individuals, families and communities to increase awareness on GBV and HIV; create demand for services and coordination with key stakeholders in order to decrease societal acceptance of GBV;  enhance protective factors; and improve enabling environment.

Erick has done a lot of voluntary work with UNFPA, Alliance for Accountability Advocates Zambia [AAAZ] and Southern Africa AIDS Trust in his capacity as a youth activist. In addition, Erick is a sexual reproductive health and rights - SRHR - champion with the Sex Rights Africa Network.

Erick Muzyamba is a member of the Zambia Association for Research and Development, the Zambia Monitoring and Evaluation Association and also a member of African Zambia country chapter.

Former Board Members

Edward Ndopu, South Africa

Edward NdopuEdward (Eddie) Ndopu is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning human rights advocate, and was recently named by MTV as one of the most powerful disabled people on the planet. Eddie is the former Head of Amnesty International’s Africa Youth Program and is a former Researcher for the World Economic Forum.

He currently consults for the United Nations and serves as Global Ambassador for Nobel-Peace-Prize-Winning Organization, Humanity and Inclusion, where he advocates for the educational rights of children with disabilities across the world.

Eddie holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Oxford University, the first African with a disability to do so. He also holds a Bachelor's Degree with High Distinction from Carelton University, Canada, and is a graduate of the Inaugural Class of the African Leadership Academy. Eddie served on the board from June 2018 – January 2019.

 Pakati Staff

Project Manager
Monique Atouguia

Monique AtouguiaMonique holds a BA Honours in Justice and Transformation (with distinction) and a BA in Economic History, Political Science and English Literary Studies from the University of Cape Town. She is also pursuing a Masters in Organisational and Institutional Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand, part-time.

Prior to joining AFLI, Monique worked as a Policy Analyst at the Centre for Development and Enterprise on a range of policy issues such as youth unemployment, urban development and land reform. In that role, she engaged with various stakeholders and authored a number of seminal publications.

Project Associate
Josias Ambeu

Josias AmbeuJosias Ambeu joins AFLI as a UN Habitat Youth Advisory Board member representing the Africa region. He is the founder of a Social University called Change Champions School in Cote d'Ivoire. As an expert in youth capacity building, youth organization growth and youth leadership, he has contributed a lot to the implementation of youth programs across the world.

During his time with the African Union, he trained young Africans on issues they face in their communities. Josias worked as a Global Internship Program manager with AIESEC, where he was an International Youth Advisor, Consultant and Coach. During the five years he worked at AIESEC in Côte d’Ivoire, they won the Africa Award for growth and his leadership saw the organisation bring on more than 700 volunteers and placed African youth in professional internships in and off the continent. 

He is a Computer Science engineer, skilled in youth development issues, project management, digital marketing, administration and public relations.