Kansas State University

Staley School of Leadership Studies to host Mandela Washington Fellows

Submitted by Alix Carole Onmalela Bilip

For the second year, the Staley School of Leadership Studies will host a group of young leaders from sub-Saharan Africa for a six-week Civic Leadership Institute from June 16 to July 30. Throughout the course of the institute, the Staley School of Leadership Studies will facilitate opportunities for cultural exchange and leadership development to advance the work of each fellow by growing their capacity to lead change upon return to their home countries.

Facilitated through the U.S. Department of State, the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders began in 2014 and was the flagship program of President Barack Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative, or YALI, which empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training and networking. The cohort of fellows hosted at Kansas State University will be part of a larger group of 1,000 Mandela Washington Fellows hosted at institutions across the U.S. this summer.

Each of the Mandela Washington Fellows are activists and leaders in their home communities and have been recognized for their accomplishments in promoting innovation and positive change in their organizations, institutions, communities and countries. The fellows are engaged across a diverse array of issues, including youth development, public health, gender equity, agricultural sustainability and disability rights.

Kansas State University will host the following Mandela Washington Fellows; included is their home country:

• Abdourahman Bamba, Togo
• Abdoul Karim Goza Ali, Niger
• Amina Mohammed-Jaji, Nigeria
• Brahim Thiam, Mauritania
• Cleopatra Matanhire, Zimbabwe
• Diksha Beeharry, Mauritius
• Dalitso Chiwayula, Malawi
• Davidetta Cassell, Liberia
• Folasade Bamisaye, Nigeria
• Gloria Chukia Buga, South Sudan
• Martin Habinshuti, Rwanda
• Izel Kipruto, Kenya
• Jeremias Travares, Cabo Verde
• Kanono Thabane, Lesotho
• Manoa Rakotoarison, Madagascar
• Marcella Katjijova, Cote d’Ivoire
• Marie-Leopoldine Tossou, Cote d’Ivoire
• Mehret Berehe, Ethiopia
• Onyedika Ekwerike, Nigeria
• Raisibe Mahapa, South Africa
• Ruby Goka, Ghana
• Sharifu Kiragga Tusuubira, Uganda

Read more about each Mandela Fellow and keep up-to-date on additional fellows joining the group this summer on the Staley School of Leadership Studies' blog, "The Loop." 

The Staley School of Leadership Studies invites the campus community to engage with the fellows throughout their six-week visit. Does your work involve engagement with Africa or do you have specific expertise on issues that impact the region? Come connect with the fellows and share your civic work. Another way to engage is through the Peer Network, comprised of campus and community leaders and activists who serve as a resource for connection and shared learning with the Mandela Fellows. For questions or more information on how you can connect with these young leaders, contact Trisha Gott at tcgott@k-state.edu.

The Civic Leadership Institute directly aligns with the Staley School of Leadership Studies' mission to develop knowledgeable, ethical, caring, and inclusive leaders for a diverse and changing world and to prepare civic leaders to address the challenges of communities both locally and globally.