Today we share the final instalment in this month’s partner spotlight series. Following Hisham’s and Julie’s stories, this blog takes us to Toronto, where Emmanuela works for the Mastercard Foundation’s Scholars Program. Emmanuela joined the Foundation after leaving Kenya on a scholarship to study economics in Canada. She is a young leader who cares for and about young people on the continent and so she has been a vocal advocate for deep listening about their issues in the North American chapter of the Foundation’s alumni network.
By Emmanuela Alimlim, Program Analyst at the Mastercard Foundation and Ján Michalko
Ján Michalko: The Frame
Neither one of us remember how we met. Although I’m certain it’s not because it would have been an uneventful encounter. Emmanuela is always ‘on’ and beams with positive exuberance. So, it’s it was not a grey meeting or a workshop. It most likely included an icebreaker where I learnt that growing up, she wanted to be a nun.
Some of the earliest tasks that we did together were focus groups with the Foundation’s alumni studying or working in the USA and Canada. In late 2020, as we were preparing to launch the North American chapter of the Foundation’s alumni network, we knew we had to test some of our assumptions about the purpose and activities for this youth.
Emmanuela giving a speech at the Kenyan Community in Ontario event, after she won an award as an active youth in the community
Relatable role model herself
As Emmanuela writes in her piece, we were acutely aware that experiences of African youth outside the continent are unique in opportunities and challenges they raise. Navigating anti-black racism is certainly one of them.
Her own path, growing up in Samburu County, Kenya and coming to Canada for a degree in economics, resonates with many chapter members she supports. That is why her open and vulnerable storytelling matters so much.
Emmanuela and her cousin to the left in Waso Muslim Nursery School. The picture was taken as part of the ChildFund Program.
She did not originally think about going abroad though. As she tells me, “In all honesty, I never had any ambition to go abroad. So, when the opportunity to apply to schools abroad came, I was excited and jumped to it.”
It also means that she is empathetic to the young people the Foundation seeks to support and uses her role as the bridge between the Foundation and the leadership committee to its full possibility. In this way, she enables their vision and ideas like club house discussions on diasporic giving.
Leading the way
Emmanuela is also a role model of transformative leadership that the Foundation scholars grow into. She has been a vocal advocate of the network and has raised awareness about its potential impact as a co-organizer of the Network Learning Series. Modeled after inHive’s Networks Learning Journey, the workshop series saw experienced network builders sharing insights and best practices with the Foundation teams.
One of the key take-aways of the series was about the importance of human connection, vulnerability, and transparency for successful network building. Emmanuela’ storytelling and energy for young people are great examples how to achieve that.
Emmanuela: Why mental health matters for young in sub-Saharan Africa
The phrase “mental illness” scares a lot of people. This is particularly so for those of us from sub-Saharan Africa. A lot of young people experience mental illness because of various experiences in their lives: loss of parents, relationship breakups, lack of job opportunities etc. Although at a slow rate, awareness of mental health has been increasing, but there is need for more. We need to ensure that we provide information and support to those affected, including speaking openly in spaces we occupy and telling our own stories.
Emmanuela and Sieglinder during one of their Facebook Live conversations on mental illness. The conversation explored the signs and symptoms, self-care practice, treatment plans and other topics.
I have my own experience as a young woman from Kenya, who had to go through mental health challenges. I started realizing how unmotivated with life I was. I spent most of my time locked in my room, far away from any human interactions. I was determined to cut contacts to those close to me as I felt angry, sad, ashamed and everything in between. I was later diagnosed with clinical depression that needed a lot of treatments including psychotherapy, medication etc.
When I reflect on what that meant for me and those around me, there is definitely a lot of shame, as it often seems foreign or that it is not supposed to happen – especially to the young people who’ve broken barriers to access education. Education continues to be one of the pathways out of poverty, and so these ‘successful’ young people are considered ‘strong’ and thus shouldn’t experience any form of mental illness.
Breaking barriers each as we can
We can all start in the spaces we occupy. It does matter even if we start small in our families because it can then cascade to the work we do. As a student at University of Toronto I had made it my mission to curate events that highlights the struggles of mental illness amongst international students and particularly those from African countries.
As part of her advocacy work on reducing the stigma of mental illness, Emmanuela secured funding from the University of Toronto to direct a documentary on how students are seeking support across the different campuses. The late Chancellor Emeritus Michael Wilson, a former Minister of finance and ambassador to US was also featured.
I’ve been intentional with the work that I do which involves a lot of young people to ensure in the program design and delivery that resources are allocated and are youth-led. I’m currently leading two employee innovation funds that were started by Mastercard Foundation Scholars alumni in Uganda and one in Kenya. This is to ensure we are trusting young people to lead and contribute to their communities and economy meaningfully.
The future
I’m imagining a perfect ‘world’ where mental health is given the same type of attention and support as physical. Such change could unlock massive potential of young people who continue to struggle in silence. I’ve always been a strong believer of starting mental health education should start as young as those in primary school. So, let’s start a conversation and bring the attention from the shadows into the light.