Sabally’s Leadership Academy (SLA), a youth empowerment and mentorship foundation established by former Presidential Affairs Minister Momodou Sabally, joined award-winning lecturer, activist and honorary U. S. Cultural Ambassador, Yewande Austin in support of a youth camp on social entrepreneurship run by Yewande’s Change Rocks Foundation for a group of girls in Richmond, Virginia.
SLA’s collaboration with Change Rocks Foundation entailed the participation of 10 girls brought together by SLA who served as experts in vetting and giving feedback to the team of girls camped at St. Catherine’s School in the US. The interaction between the two groups of girls across the Atlantic happened through video conferencing.
In a collaborative effort between St. Catherine’s School and the Change Rocks Foundation, these young ladies, a group of middle school girls from all over the Richmond area, participated in a unique summer camp called “The Art of Change”.
The collaborative effort lasted three weeks, ending July 5, 2017. During this period Yewande Austin taught the girls in Richmond how to build business models that can change the world in the “Art of Change” Social Entrepreneurship Camp. Yewande expressed gratitude “for this partnership and the incredible lessons presented by S. Ross Browne, Artist, Dr. Kimberly N. Brown, Natasha Wilson, Momodou Sabally, and the MathScience Innovation Center where the girls participated in a simulated Challenger Space Shuttle Mission.”
Yewande Austin, 2017 President Obama Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, 2015 TED speaker and2014 CNN Hero Award nominee has dedicated her life to confronting some of the world’s greatest socio- economic issues. From major television networks MTV and BET to the historic Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Yewande’s socially charged music has taken center stage with the likes of the Black Eyed Peas, Maroon 5, Sean Paul and India Arie, but she is most proud of her work as an award-winning lecturer, activist and honorary U. S. Cultural Ambassador.
Sabally’s Leadership Academy was established in 2015, and has conducted lectures and seminars on leadership and youth empowerment for thousands of young people in The Gambia and abroad. SLA is set to run another summer youth camp later this year after a widely applauded one done last year.
