Tujenge Africa Foundation

Address:

Burundi

Description:

Tujenge Africa Foundation‘s goal is to build African capacity through quality, innovative, and boundary-pushing education. The Foundation will help boost the potential of the poorest and most marginalized in the African Great Lakes region through development initiatives that focus on education, dialogue, and economic advancement.

Utilizing their Scholars Program, they commit to one high-achieving, low-income cohort of exceptional Burundian young adults each year, for a post-secondary “gap year.” They are introduced to college-level reading, writing, and math, and charged with simultaneously becoming local and global citizens.

Beyond classes, scholars select, plan, execute, and document a year-long public service project. These projects are a practical exercise in leadership, and reflect the bright creativity and potential of these students to effect real change in their communities.

The overarching mission of the Scholars Program is to incubate the next generation of ethical Burundian leaders who are closely linked to the region and the broader business and political world. As such, each Tujenge Scholar is contractually required to return to Burundi and work for a minimum of two years after graduating from university.

Mission Statement: Through its diverse portfolio of initiatives, Tujenge Africa Foundation creates educational hubs to incubate a national network of innovators, leaders, entrepreneurs, and peace agents. They seek to create empathetic institutions that truly understand the plight of the impoverished, as well as anyone who might experience discrimination or marginalization based on ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, religion or creed, and area of residence.

Our Connection:

Generational Grant: Skees Family Foundation began working with Tujenge Africa Foundation in 2019. The second generation voted to support them because of their unique process of working with students in the post-secondary, pre-university level stage, which traditionally gets left behind. They also loved the full-circle aspect of their program, encouraging their participants to return to Burundi to help develop their community.

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