The Ghana Project
AYI Centres was officially registered in Australia on the 8th of August 2016 to raise funds to support the development of a youth development project in Ghana. The AYI Ghana project was born 2 weeks later in mid-August in Ghana. AYI Ghana was registered as a Charity with the Ghana Government in 2017.
The Sydney/Australia Project
AYI Centres also began its Sydney base youth initiative Project in 2018 with the start of its Youth Mentoring Project. This project saw 10 mentors being trained to professionally mentor young Africans in Sydney. We continue to work on this project with our current drive for dedicated youth workers to engage African youth and their families in both Sydney.
We began supporting other Sydney organisations in 2019 by offering advice and referral pathways in their work with African families.
A Longer History of AYI
The first AYI Ghana program was in partnership with the Teshie branch library of the Ghana Libraries Authority in August 2016. Since then there have been over 1,000 children in our programs. The ages have ranged from 8 to 17. They have engaged in reading and learning sessions, group educational activities, as well as sports and recreational sessions. During the Saturday program, the children were usually provided with lunch.
Between 2016 to 2019, AYI Ghana was based in 2 elementary schools (Vichrist Secondary School and Rokai Memorial School). In addition, they opened a dedicated Youth Centre (Library and IT Centre) in December 2017, one year after the Project was initiated!
Benefits of our programs to the youth included:
* Educational skills and knowledge – eg., reading, writing, knowledge of the world, geography and science, environmental sustainability, cultural awareness etc.
* Social skills, self-confidence, teamwork, problem-solving, independence etc.
* Physical and mental health and wellbeing. Kids have felt happier after attending our supported program and also benefited from physical activity.
The program also benefits the local community by providing:
* Economic development through the employment of workers
* Support for parents and family and assistance with everyday problems
AYI Centres Australia
We began engaging in fundraising initiatives from the beginning in 2016 and we have continued to do so. Through our concerted efforts, we have managed to raise $35,000 in the first 4 years of operation. In 2016, we sent one of our Directors, AYI co-Founder Bishop Laryea to Ghana to assist AYI Ghana staff and management in establishing their youth project. Bishop Laryea also traveled back to Ghana in 2019 and provided further assistance and personnel support to our AYI Ghana sister Charity.
AYI Centres Australia secured its first official office space in Sydney in August 2020 just in time for our 4th birthday celebrations.