The Mandela Washington Fellowship is pleased to announce that 10 Fellowship Alumni and Alumni Teams have been selected to receive funding for the second annual Mandela Day Service Grants (MDSG).
Mandela International Day of Service has been officially recognized since July 18, 2009; however, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the custodian of his legacy, has advocated for “Making Every Day a Mandela Day” to encourage volunteerism throughout the year. Mandela Day Service Grants support community service and volunteer projects where Fellowship Alumni design, implement, and actively engage in short-term volunteer-driven community campaigns that contribute to sustainable community development. The selected grantees implemented their projects from May to June 2024.
The 2024 MDSG recipients and projects include:
Claude Valentin Zanmenou, 2021 Fellowship Alumnus, Benin collaborated with 2021 Fellowship Alumna Ghislaine Setchemin Akakpo to train secondary school students in disability awareness and foster leadership for visually impaired students.
Frederick Mensah, 2023 Fellowship Alumnus, Ghana collaborated with 2023 Fellowship Alumna Sylvia Phaphali Adzitey to promote education on nutrition screening, training 100 caregivers in the Salaga community in Ghana to use locally available grains.
Jannie Ratsimba, 2021 Fellowship Alumnus, Madagascar collaborated with 2021 Fellowship Alumna Vony Randrianonenana to distribute waste bins in public elementary schools. The project also will implement a hygiene awareness and recycling campaigns.
Lizette Deonnie, 2017 Fellowship Alumna, Namibia collaborated with the Women’s Solidarity Network (WSN) Namibia, to introduce an aquaponics food system and training on maintenance and how to sell the produce.
Lungile Mzizi, 2016 Fellowship Alumna, Eswatini collaborated with 2018 Fellowship Alumnus Sabelo Mlangeni to refurbish the iron roof of two classrooms at Madzanga High School by collaborating with the U.S. Alumni Association of Eswatini.
Michael Showumni, 2023 Fellowship Alumnus Nigeria collaborated with 2023 Fellowship Alumnus Julius Ilori to renovate a classroom to be more accommodating for students with disabilities.
Njabulo Thulani Mthunzi, 2019 Fellowship Alumnus, Zimbabwe collaborated with 2019 Fellowship Alumna Khethiwe Mhlope to install a wifi network for a school providing education to over 600 low-income students.
Shaibu Fuseini, 2023 Fellowship Alumnus, Ghana collaborated with 2023 Fellowship Alumna Gifty Adzigbey on a training to equip people with disabilities with technical skills in soap making and to educate 100 high school students on equity and inclusion for people with disabilities.
Tania Gahama, 2022 Fellowship Alumna, Burundi worked on a project to increase awareness and education on healthy nutrition for pregnant women to combat maternal anemia.
Upendo Mtataiko, 2022 Fellowship Alumna, Tanzania worked on a project to train secondary school teachers in computer skills and provide computers at no cost.