Meet Team YA Namibia

Dirk joined the Young Africa team in 2007 as capacity builder of YA Zimbabwe. He and his wife Yvette founded YA Namibia in 2011. Dirk has a background in environmental management and has worked for over 15 years as an environmental consultant for companies and local authorities. 

He explains, “It is a great privilege to be part of a team who is dedicated to giving young people the skills to develop themselves in such a way that they take the responsibility to change their life positively.”

Yvette joined the Young Africa family in Zimbabwe as project coordinator and capacity builder in 2006. With a background in Development and Environment, Yvette has worked over 15 years as an consultant in environmental education and communication for NGOs in the Netherlands and internationally. At Young Africa, she plays a major role in fundraising and setting up the projects, overseeing quality of training and integral development of students, capacity building of staff and HoDs, and organisational development.

Yvette explains, "Young Africa truly empowers young people. The skills training centres buzz with energy from entrepreneurs dedicated to pass on their skills and from youngsters eager to learn new skills. Knowing the students' background and seeing how they're doing now, living comfortable independent lives and raising families, fills me with joy and pride."

Brenda joined the YA team in 2016. Brenda previous experience has been in retail and hospitality. She explains, “I enjoy working with the team and enabling YA to grow into an established centre for education. It is a great learning curve.”