African Leadership Academy Campus where William Spent Two Years

In 2008, William was part of the inaugural batch of 106 students who enrolled in the African Leadership Academy. The mission of the academy was “developing the next generation of African leaders”. Just like William, his peers were game changers in Africa – leaders and innovators who identified and solved problems in their community. What distinguished them from majority of the African population was their strong sense of agency. Being born in the poorest continent in the world, with many of the countries there suffering from conflict, famine, exploitation (and the list goes on), it is easy for learned helplessness to occur. Today, the situation in Africa has not improved significantly and many countries rely on aid. However, these youths still believe that they can take charge of the situation by identifying root causes and developing solutions that fit the context of their community. The academy helps these individuals develop their skillsets so that the African community can have good leaders that make a difference amidst adversity rather than the current state of poor governance that perpetuates a sense of helplessness.