An alliance of Influencers, Advocate on Entrepreneurship & ICTs.
ON THE SPOT
Nesida Hakim Belembaogo, The Founder & President of Flare of Light Word.
MY STORY
After one year of work, a very encouraging experience with a strong team of leaders, I’m proud to share with you my story which highlights what inspired me to initiate the creation of Flare of Light.
Born and raised in Burkina Faso, I felt an untold pressure to always perform and succeed based off social norms and expectations. There were high standards about our outlook on life, role, and position.
This vision was supposedly for our own sake. Our ascension was already predicted not with a divine perspective but a human one. I was under the impression there was only one route to follow in order to be called *victorious* on earth. Victory indeed was rested on the type of job we would hold and the type of social class we would belong to in the future.
Fast forward years later, I was fortunate to find myself in North America thanks to my family’s sacrifice and investment in my education. Finding myself in United Nates of America, I was fascinated by the variety of educational and professional programs offered in this country. This was an environment in which each individual, female or male, had an opportunity to find the most appropriate direction he/she could pursue centered on their own interest and passion. Each person was given the choice to aspire to their
Youths, no matter their background deserves the best network of influence.
In this context, I had a chance to evolve through my academic journey being surrounded by few people who became more than teachers; I found mentors. Their attention towards my personal growth reinforced my desire to reach my true potential. I learned the importance of dreaming about my higher calling and manifest the opportunities that would gradually fulfill my vision of the world. I have aspired to see a world of inter-connected, dependable, and sustainable nation as with access to possibilities. I continuously kept in mind one of my mentors’ advice to follow Walt Disney’s credo: *Dream-Believe-Date-Do*.
Dream-Believe-Date-Do.
But many external and uncontrollable factors play a major role in our growth’s process. I was favored to be healthy. I was favored to still have both of my parents alive and receive my family’s emotional care. I was favored to have supportive and loyal friends. I was favored to not worry about financial means regarding my expense school fees. I favored to be surrounded by love. I was privileged to have access to health care whenever I needed to. I was privileged to live in a safe township. I was privileged to have access to electricity. As weird as it sounds, I was privileged to have internet access 24/7. I was privileged to have access to a library and information. I was privileged to not experience racial discrimination on a daily basis. I was privileged to find myself in Boston; one of the renowned global cities to offer quality of life and learning. I was just blessed to have the ability to choose.
I have taken all these privileges for granted for so long since they were part of my everyday life. I had to recognize few fortunate I was in order to start thinking of others who did not have nearly as much as I did. This the moment I began to acknowledge others’ challenges, issues and concerns which may directly influence their personal and professional growth. This thought process and experience ultimately led me to the vision of creating opportunities to the youth in need who are struggling because of so many components.
Flare of Light strives to build hope within this group of population form difficult background and enlighten their diversity of skillset by promoting Entrepreneurship and technology. Indeed, I believe in the right of each young adult no matter their background to have access to the best network of inspiring and influencers Mentors for their self-development. Light can be seen at the end of tunnel. My success now lies in my support and investment in our current and future generations of this world.
International Youth Day
Flare of Light joinsYouth Engagement for Global Action.
12 August date mark the International Youth Day (IYD) declared by the United Nations by a resolution (A/RES/54/120). This is a worldwide opportunity to celebrate and mainstream young peoples’ voices, actions, and initiatives, as well as their meaningful, universal, and equitable engagement. This year 2020, the theme is “Youth Engagement for Global Action”.
The International Labor Organization reports that more than one under six youth has lost their job because of COVID 19. The proportion of young people not in employment, education, or training (the youth NEET rate) has remained stubbornly high over the past 15 years and now stands at 30% for young women and 13% for young men worldwide.
The theme of International Youth Day 2020, “Youth Engagement for Global Action” seeks to highlight the ways in which the engagement of young people at the local, national and global levels is enriching national and multilateral institutions and processes, as well as draw lessons on how their representation and engagement in formal institutional politics can be significantly enhanced.
As the United Nations turns 75, and with only 10 years remaining to make the 2030 Agenda a reality for all, trust in public institutions is eroding. At the international level, against the backdrop of an increasingly polarized world, the international system of governance is currently undergoing a crisis of legitimacy and relevance. In particular, this crisis is rooted in the need to strengthen the capacity of the international system to act in concert and implement solutions to pressing challenges and threats.
Enabling the engagement of youth in formal political mechanisms does increase the fairness of political processes by reducing democratic deficits, contributes to better and more sustainable policies, and also has symbolic importance that can further contribute to restore trust in public institutions, especially among youth. Moreover, the vast majority of challenges humanity currently faces, such as the COVID-19 outbreak and climate change require concerted global action and the meaningful engagement and participation of young people to be addressed effectively.
This year’s IYD seeks to put the spotlight on youth engagement through the following three interconnected streams: Engagement at the local/community level; at the national level (formulation of laws, policies, and their implementation); and at the global level (www.un.org )
FLARE OF LIGHT LEADERS MOTIVATION
Akila Aggoune, Secrétaire, Directrice
Providing sound education and offering creativity-boosting opportunities are key for youth self-development, a leitmotiv which guides my active role in family and my engagement in society. Flare of Light, a non-profit corporation offer me an honorable space to support its vision and mission. As an expert on human rights in general and on women and children’s rights in particular, I feel the duty and the pleasure to share my expertise with the present and future generation for an integrity, peaceful and accountable society. With my long experience and various professional competencies in national and international development who also believe in wide networking, inter-generational and inter-country partnership, joining the team of Flare of Light is a wonderful way to contribute to creating a favorable environment for youths to express their voice and to energize their sleepy talent to shy for themselves, for their families and for their nation*.
Théophane Nikyema, Country Director
Flare of Light’s vision of “guiding the underprivileged youth to their true potential by providing them with access to technology and developing their business acumen” is so compelling that I could not resist to join the team and support the vision with my over 30 years of experience in international development.
The social and economic development of African countries and more specifically of Burkina Faso, is so dependent of the youth and the business sector that a programme focusing on business acumen of the underprivileged youth is an important initiative to boost sustainable socio-economic development in our countries.
Flare of Light offers an opportunity to reduce inequality and poverty by providing education and training to youth to increase employment, generate income and contribute to the overall growth of Burkina Faso.
Habiba El-Mejri Scheikh, Marketing and Communication Director.
Being part of Flare of Light’s team is an opportunity for me to contribute to a better Africa. It is in a way a continuation of a pan-Africanist struggle that has always been waged so that the citizens of our continent, especially its youth, have the maximum opportunity to manage their own affairs and realize their own dreams.
I humbly bring my communication skills to participate in the success recorded by Flare of Light and those to come. With such a committed, professional, and experienced team, I think that even if our road will certainly be long, the light is at the end of the road. This is the meaning of the name well carried by our organization. Let’s remember that Flare of Light is a circle connecting high caliber Education and Technology Advocates to provide Mentorship and Career Counselling Services to unfortunate children under 25 while heightening their entrepreneurial spirit and sense of purpose.
F.O.L OFFICERS
Nesida Hakim Belembaogo, Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer, Akila Aggoune, Secretary Director, Rajae Msefer Berada, Partnership and Fundraising Director, Habiba El-Mejri Scheikh, Marketing and Communication Director, Theophane Nikyema, Country Director. Burkina Faso
Newsletter Team
Nesida Hakim Belembaogo, Publishing Director
Habiba El-Mejri Scheikh, Editor in chief
Akila Aggoune, Writer
CONTACT:
Nesida Hakim Belembaogo, Founder & President & CEO. Flare of Light,
Pennsylvania.
Tel +1 857 250 9188.
e-mail info@flareoflightnp.org
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