The Young African Leaders Initiative: Fruitful YALI experience of six Mauritians 

Like every year, six young leaders from Mauritius went to join other African leaders in Pretoria for a one-month fellowship. The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) is a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. Our young leaders unveil their experience.

Luxshinee Mudhoo: “I plan to organise educational workshops” 

18-year old Luxshinee works at the Mauritius International Trust Company Limited. She is the founder and President of the Weave a Dream Association whose aim is to provide help to underprivileged people in terms of money and school and other needy materials to children coming from low-income families. She reveals that her South African experience has truly been a life-changing one which broadens her knowledge on leadership. “YALI has provided me with an international platform whereby I was able to enhance leadership skills, interpersonal skills and personality. I lived the pure African culture along with its difficulties and solutions and was able to have a better understanding about the hindrances that are preventing Mother Africa from flourishing.  The trip created wonderful memories, amazing bonds and an unforgettable experience and made me a more compassionate person.” She will be implementing whatever she learnt from her experience. “Now I know how to handle problematic situations, and I know how to provide real solutions by analysing all possibilities. I hope to pass on whatever I learned at YALI to my team members, friends and family so that little by little, we might be able to tackle serious social issues.” She states that every workshop she attended and every single person she met changed her life drastically. “I am certainly a more confident lady who is very much sure of herself. When I look back to the individual I was, I should acknowledge that this program shaped me into a more self-reliant person. I am now able to handle situations and lead a team with the ultimate objective to attain the goal. I learned about effective ways how to convey my message to the public, government sector and private sector including donors, stakeholders and sponsors.” She now plans to provide her team members with incredible opportunities and through her association encourage everyone to step forward to develop life skills for a better future. “I want to inspire youngsters to live moments like I did and this is why I am planning to organise educational workshops to encourage youngsters to apply for such wonderful programmes like YALI and other Pan-Africa programmes. I believe that together as one, we, the youth of today and leaders of tomorrow, we can bring the changes we want to see in the world. The only path to a successful and bright future is education.” 

Yuckmila Chooneea: “A life changing opportunity” 

Yuckmila Chooneea works as an Agricultural Support Officer at the Entomology Division of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security. She followed the YALI Cohort 7 program in Public Management and Governance track.  The various seminars and workshops enabled her to learn and understand her strengths and weaknesses as a young leader. “The YALI program has helped me develop my leadership potential and stimulate lasting change by empowering a global network of talented individuals across 14 different countries from Southern Africa.  On a personal note, the leadership course has helped me to identify my strengths, build self-esteem and foster leadership skills.”  She is delighted to now have friends in different countries – Madagascar, South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi and more.  “We shared our stories and in so doing, realised we all have the same struggles, fears and dreams.  We also shared our ambitions to realise our goals.  We have returned home as young leaders with new ideas, knowledge and the ability to make significant contribution in my workplace and country as leaders in our respective fields. For instance, learning about transparency and good governance at all levels of the society will help me to cultivate and to encourage more transparency and accountable behaviour.” Being part of the YALI network is indeed one of the life-changing opportunities, declares the young lady.  Just like the YALI program has had a positive impact on her activities and lives, she wants other people to have this opportunity to help enhance their daily lives.  Given her strong passion for sustainable agriculture, she plans to contribute further in this field either in government projects or in NGOs.  

Bhoomesh Beeharry: “Looking forward to eliminate corruption” 

A Management Support Officer at the Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms, Bhoomesh is a PhD student in management. He describes his experience as marvellous as he got the opportunity to interact, share and discuss important issues such as gender-based violence and benefit of cultural diversity among participants from across 14 countries. “Change may start at micro level whereby effective communication in terms of listening, put yourself in the shoes of your friend, provide positive feedback is key towards sustainable development. I want to develop and apply high quality work environment, investing time and resources in creating a comfortable and stimulating organisational climate, where people feel motivated and involved and where they can make the most out of themselves.” He wants to eliminate corruption and advise young leaders to focus on their goals. “If you choose to succeed and decide to prosper and commit to focused goals, anything is possible because your best can still be in front of you. You have unlimited value. Your good dreams can come true. So choose to enlarge your vision, retrain your brain, attract the good around you, step forward daily, positively engage in relationships and prepare your success, avoid negativity.”

Deepti Beesoon: “Creating a fair and equal society” 

Deepti Beesoon has seven years of experience in the financial sector. She is a MBA holder and a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). She is very active socially and is a member of the Rotaract Club of Port Louis and currently the director of International Services.  For her, YALI has been an enriching experience where she had the opportunity to work with different people from 14 African countries.  “YALI enhanced my leadership skills. I leant that if we want to bring about a change, we should be the change and lead by example.” She wants to bring a change in the educational sector. “We need to unleash the potential of every single Mauritian child. Academic success should not be the only focus, rather we should aim for our children to be multi-skilled and to think critically.” She will be working towards creating a fair and equal society that will make Mauritius a good place to live.  

Urvashi Appiah: “A platform to share knowledge” 

Urvashi Appiah, 22, works as Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer at Collectif Urgence Toxida (CUT). She has been volunteering since a tender age. Her experience at YALI in South Africa reinforced her learned lessons through her different experiences in Mauritius and allowed her to see from many more perspectives and through the eyes of the youth from the 14 different countries present there.  “Since I came back, I have also been able to view my work from a different perspective and have a clearer vision on how to implement different tasks with a broader vision.  Keeping in touch with the network formed at YALI is also a great way of sharing knowledge and best practices across borders. The things I learned in Civic Leadership was very relevant to my work as I work in an NGO, I am therefore able to implement all the things relevant to my projects.” She wants to see a more inclusive and compassionate society where less privileged or stigmatised people are able to feel included and live a decent life. She is looking forward to be able to contribute to the betterment of Mauritius and Africa.  “I am gathering knowledge and experiences and I am excited to share them with anyone who wishes to engage with me.  I am passionate about personal development and mental wellbeing and I look forward to dedicating my life in these fields.” 

Vissen Mooroogen: “Looking forward to emancipate change” 

Vissen has been working in the human resources sector for the past five years. He is also in charge of PR and Membership of the Rotaract Club of Quatre Bornes. He describes his experience at YALI as awesome and fabulous. “The exposure, networking and common interests shared between all the participating countries across SADC were richly spread across borders of Africa for the years to come, in order to emancipate change. Mauritius should focus on its geographical roots and facilitates the trade of knowledge, goods and services that would strengthen global trade in Africa. We should invest on quality education instead of the quantity of graduates. Mauritius has no natural resources; our IQ is the vital asset for our success.” He really wants to see political leaders to be more accountable. He is now looking forward to attend the Mandela Washington Fellowship Initiative.