Our story

We believe in training as many youths as possible. To help us get there, Young Africa International works with a dedicated team of experts.

How it all started

In 1998, Dorien Beurskens (CEO) and Raj A. Joseph (former CEO) left for Zimbabwe, with few resources and lots of ideals. A few years earlier, Dorien and Raj had met when they both worked with Don Bosco in Kenya. Upon arrival in Zimbabwe they carried out a small survey to identify the dreams of youth in Zimbabwe. What constraints were blocking young people from achieving their dreams? How could they contribute to that? The answers they received were all the same: young people need vocational training and income generating projects. And that is exactly the direction that Young Africa chose to follow.

Co-Founder and CEO, Dorien Beurskens together with her partner Raj A. Joseph, started Young Africa in 1998. Now, Young Africa International has over twenty years of experience in empowering youth.

Raj and Dorien built up the Young Africa centres in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, set up the headquarters in Harare, lead the team in Amsterdam and recruited like-minded people to expand Young Africa further.

Young Africa International offers various services and training. Download our (English) training manual here.

Young Africa has over 20 years of experience in youth development. Since 1998, we have established nine training centers in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and trained close to 45,000 youth. The Young Africa HUB in Harare, Zimbabwe acts as a knowledge center for other organizations involved in youth development.

Get a preview of our tried and tested Life Skills Manual here.

Young Africa team

The Young Africa International team is based on two continents. We bundle our forces and aim to to reach out to youth in Southern Africa.