YAWE-Youth and Women Emancipation is a youth-led and innovative development organization working to empower the poorest youth, children and women. YAWE is a locally registered non-governmental organization since 2017 under the Tanzania NGO Act No 24 of 2002 and is mandated to operate in Tanzania Mainland.
YAWE was established to respond to the growing socio-economic, political and environmental concerns in Tanzania that require multi-sectoral involvements and approaches. The high level of unemployment among youth, weakening of quality education, gender-based violence which is associated with high levels of gender inequalities in the communities, extreme child exploitation, and poor and substandard health services have negatively impacted children, youth and women. Further, low- standard of living, lack of meaningful youth engagement in both policy-making and democratic spaces, and underprivileged food and nutrition security exacerbated by climate change impacts compound the problem.
This necessity to establish YAWE as a joint effort that will facilitate an improvement of living conditions of underprivileged and poorest youth, children and women through the implementation of innovative development programs and community-based livelihoods programs to assist in addressing development problems of mutual concern in Tanzania. In performing strategic improvement, YAWE has focused on healthcare and nutrition services; democracy and good governance; gender equality and child protection; and climate change mitigation captivating the advantage of technological development in the global.
YAWE is led by an independent board of directors. The Board comprises 5 members– appointed by the YAWE Annual General Meeting. Our board of directors meets on quarterly basis to discuss organizational matters and make strategic organizational decisions.
At YAWE, we always seek to identify and adopt acceptable and culturally appropriate approaches and strategies to engage young people, children and women in delivering the solutions to their concerns by integrating them into their daily lived experiences while shaping and influencing positive change in attitudes and behaviors. YAWE is dedicated to scaling evidence-based on positive youth, children and women development in all sectors and contexts to improve capacities and enable the aspirations of the poorest youth, children and women so they can contribute to and benefit from more stable, democratic and prosperous communities and nations.