Philanthropic initiative Schmidt Futures, in partnership with educational charity Rhodes Trust today announced a cohort of 100 Rise Global Winners, five of whom are Kenyans.
Rise is a global program that expands its reach of the Next Generation Leaders to over 22 Countries targeting brilliant 15 to 17 year old minds.
“We are looking for extraordinarily bright people everywhere because genius can have an outsized impact on improving the world when applied to its hardest problems,” said Gregory Manne, Rise Senior Manager of Selection & Global Outreach.
While making the announcement at Serena hotel in Nairobi Wednesday, Manne said that building a network of brilliant young people who want to make the world better is a key goal of Rise and development as today’s world depends on people working together.
“Today’s announcement of the Rise Winners is not the conclusion of a process, but rather the starting point for the young people in the program,” said Manne.
“They will have continuing opportunities to change the world for the better as they continue their education and find ways to collaborate,” he added.
He further disclosed that their team is counting on the young winners to become future leaders, using their collective gifts to help solve the world’s most challenging problems.
The list of Kenyan winners comprises, Edith Chemutai who started a movement on water conservation and created a water filtration system that reduced the dirty water swamp behind her school.
James Nyaga Ngatia who is working to create an app called iGuide, which aims to eradicate pornography.
Marietta Halima Kazungu who developed the Rapid-covix Breathalyzer to help those in rural areas who cannot afford the expensive costs of testing to better detect infectious diseases.
Natasha Njoki Ndai who created an environmentalist’s club that aims to show people that cleaning and taking care of the environment is no punishment; rather, it can encourage teamwork and create awareness as well as be enjoyable.
Wema Wambugo Marandu whose project aims at developing a reading culture by using storybooks and stocking up libraries in underprivileged communities in Kenya.
At the same time, Head of Programs for Akili Dada, Diana Njuguna stated they are truly proud of the Kenyan Rise Global Winners, which include two young women from Akili Dada’s vibrant network.
“Our partnership with Rise supports our mission to nurture young Kenyan women into transformative African leaders and we can’t wait to see them actualize their gifts while driving social change in service of the continent and the globe,” said Njuguna.
