At a Family Weekend presentation at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20, junior Musa Kpaka presented information on Youth Development Initiatives (YDI) in Sierra Leone. YDI, formed by Kpaka early this fall, is attempting to utilize the youth of Sierra Leone to generate developmental change in the war-torn nation.

The presentation, listed in the Family Weekend schedule, was planned to spread awareness and support of YDI and act as a fund raiser for YDI members’ future trips to Sierra Leone in December and March. The attendance was less than was expected, at around 13 people.

“We were really optimistic about getting parents to hear what we had to say,” said sophomore Claire Lueneburg, a YDI member. “We all talked it up a lot in the preceding week. After the presentation, we realized that a substantial shift needed to be made in our approach. We’d been so focused on putting all our funds towards action in Sierra Leone, but we decided to put more effort into establishing YDI as a legitimate organization.”

“Once we get a Web site and refine our literature and materials, we’ll hopefully be much more recognized and our efforts will pay off further,” said Kpaka.

Kpaka said his ideas for YDI originated from two experiences: his schooling at United World College in Singapore and his volunteer work in Kenya and Cambodia. All students at United World College have mandatory community service before graduation. In Kenya, Kpaka worked at four schools in a small village, teaching English and helping young people with community service projects.

“One morning a group of young men decided to repair a road off the highway that ran through the village, which was in such bad shape that it couldn’t be driven on. After it was repaired, vehicles began passing by and business in the village became much easier,” said Kpaka.

After seeing the effect that young people’s ideas had in Kenya, Kpaka decided to mimic that in his own country, Sierra Leone.

“In Sierra Leone, the young people have never been involved in volunteering or nation building,” said Kpaka. “They have a lot of ideas, but the government hasn’t listened to them. ”

In 2002, Sierra Leone ended an 11-year civil war. The country is ranked 176 out of 177 nations on the United Nations Human Development Index. According to Kpaka, the government is trying to initiate development, but their measures aren’t effective.

“The government posted billboards with information on malaria prevention,” said Kpaka. “They were only in major cities and the writing was in English, so it wasn’t helpful to a large percent of the population. Change needs to come from the villages and their needs, which the government isn’t catering to.”

Over the summer, Kpaka was awarded a grant from 100 Projects for Peace and held a workshop for young people from all over Sierra Leone. With speakers from the national government and UNICEF, the workshop aimed to train the youth to design their own community service projects and implement them in their villages. Some prominent ideas focused on girls’ education, malaria prevention, road safety and school gardens.

Kpaka is still in touch with students in Sierra Leone and plans to return in December to pioneer one youth-designed project in each of Sierra Leone’s 14 districts. In March, he plans to return again with Whitman sophomores Lueneburg and Seth Bergeson to chart the progress and effectiveness of the project.

Bergeson became interested in YDI last spring and was planning on accompanying Kpaka to Sierra Leone this summer before logistics involving the political situation prevented him.

“So much can be accomplished when groups of people get actively involved,” Bergeson said. “The youth of Sierra Leone really don’t have an outlet for involvement yet. There’s so many ways to be involved in international development; we’re aiming to figure out which niches aren’t being filled.”

Lueneburg said she’s always been “hypnotized” by the African continent.

“All my life I’ve been dreaming of a way I can travel and get involved there,” said Lueneburg, also co-president of African Awareness on campus.

After hearing Kpaka speak about his summer experience this September, Lueneburg said, she “instantly knew this was the avenue I needed to take.”

So far, YDI has been a “huge success” in Sierra Leone, according to Kpaka. Sierra Leone elected a new president in September who has already stated he will use young people as a strategy to promote new development.

“It’s very exciting,” said Kpaka. “This government is barely one month old and looking for new ideas. There was a lot of dissatisfaction in the country under the old regime. If YDI succeeds, there is hope that our path will be followed by the government.”

The reception on campus has been warm but passive.

“Everyone I have talked to thinks YDI is a great idea, but there’s so much happening on campus and everyone is involved with other things,” said Kpaka. “So far, the level of excitement has stopped at ‘It was a good project,’ not ‘We want to help you.’ We’d love for people to become proactively involved because there is so much more to do.”

All three students see YDI as a long-term project in not only Sierra Leone but hopefully other African and developing countries.

“We’re at a really exciting stage right now,” said Lueneburg. “We definitely have the potential to keep YDI continuing and branching out: possibly to Kenya, South Africa. … There’s a need everywhere for this kind of project, even Walla Walla.”

“We’re looking to get involved with Walla Walla High School and the Community Center for Youth, possibly arranging some kind of buddy school relationship,” said Bergeson. “With groups of young people all working together, problems become much more accessible. It’s a truly dynamic concept.”