Education through Young Africa

She makes a lively impression early in the morning, at her computer at Young Africa’s head office in Zimbabwe. Meeting her international colleagues over Zoom is part of 58-year-old Dorien Beurskens’ daily routine. As a social entrepreneur, she heads up a team of 300 professionals, spread across six countries. Using a franchise system, Young Africa provides vocational training in educational institutes in Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Nigeria. All the educational centres are independent organisations. The tutors who teach there are freelancers, who hire classrooms and receive a small remuneration from their students. Only the managers answer to Dorien.

Sixty percent of Africans are under the age of twenty-five. The potential labour force on the African continent is gigantic, but it remains mostly untapped due to  insufficient education and an impoverished population. Dorien and her husband decided to do something about this. In 1998, with 1500 euros of start-up capital and a huge dose of enthusiasm, they launched their first educational and training centre in Zimbabwe, comparable to ROC colleges in the Netherlands and similar post-secondary vocational education and training centres in other countries. Young men and women can take all sorts of practical courses there. In six months they are trained for jobs such as car mechanic, stylist or hospitality staff. In addition, they follow classes in civics, digital skills, sex education and accounting. If necessary, the centres also provide psychological support and coaching. ‘No one drops out,’ says Dorien. ‘Generally speaking, the students are highly motivated and very glad to have a purpose in life. And we’re happy to be able to teach them the tools they need to be self-sufficient

Don Bosco

Dorien’s story illustrates the extent to which coincidence can determine the course of a person’s life. She graduated in classical languages and went on to teach at a secondary school. ‘But I didn’t really find that fulfilling.’ In 1995 she spent a few weeks in Kenya as a volunteer on an educational project for street children, run by the Catholic organisation Don Bosco. She was raised in a socially engaged home, so she had been familiar with the organisation from a young age. ‘My parents did voluntary work too. Don Bosco ran a community centre for young people behind our house in Apeldoorn.’ She became smitten by social work. ‘I knew I was born to do this. It’s amazing to genuinely be able to do something meaningful for another person.’ By then, she had fallen in love with Raj Joseph, an Indian priest twenty years her senior. He was the managing director of Don Bosco’s Kenian educational centre. Their encounter upended both their lives. She decided to relocate to Africa and he left the priesthood.

They wanted to continue working with young people in sub-Saharan Africa. ‘Raj had worked for eight years in Kenya as an educational missionary, and he had a wealth of experience. He is the architect of our business model and he envisaged what our educational centres should look like.’ Their mission became to teach youngsters the skills they needed to be able to support themselves economically. Zimbabwe was interested from the get-go. ‘They had secondary schools there, but no vocational colleges yet,’ says Dorien. ‘When young people want to become independent, that’s precisely when they can use some support.’ As a means for fund-raising, they set up a foundation in the Netherlands. ‘By chance, my father had just taken early retirement. He offered to be our chairman. Two friends of mine joined the board. For many years, they were the engine driving Young Africa in the Netherlands.’ She laughs: ‘I don’t distinguish between my private life and my professional life.’

Educational centre

Dorien went in search of Dutch sponsors. She met the owner of Ruac, an IT company, who believed in their project. ‘He was willing to register me as an employee and pay me a minimum wage of 1200 guilders, which was enough for Raj and me to live on.’ In 2003, her former secondary school in Apeldoorn organised a big campaign. ‘That was another pivotal moment. The money enabled us to really start growing.’ Meanwhile, Dorien and Raj had settled in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe’s largest township, with a million residents. They were able to establish their educational centre in the vacant premises of a Catholic church. They also set up some hostels for girls from children’s homes, who came to them to learn a trade. They themselves simply lived in the township among the people. In 2006, after launching a second educational centre, they decided to relocate to Mozambique. There they built a new educational institute and in the bush they set up an agricultural training centre. ‘As soon as a project is up and running, we hand it over to local people,’ says Dorien. ‘Others can copy the model centre. We operate in various African countries, in order to maximise our impact.’

Now, three years later, they are back in Zimbabwe. Raj has retired and they live in an ordinary residential neighbourhood. ‘In a real house for adults, is what I call it.’ They don’t own it, they rent it. Their lives have always been focused on helping other people, and they never got around to garnering private assets. She doesn’t want to speak of pride. ‘Sometimes I look about in surprise,’ says Dorien, ‘and I exclaim: Look at what’s happened! We feel incredibly grateful to have been able to help so many young people get their lives on track.’

Young Africa

Where? Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Angola, and Nigeria
What? Young Africa empowers disadvantaged youth with vocational and life skills training, helping them find jobs, start businesses and build independent lives.
Why? In Africa, youth unemployment is rising, and many young people are left behind.
Results? In the past 25 years, Young Africa has reached 350,000 young people. Of the 70,000 who completed full vocational training, 70% now earn their own income, and 98% report feeling healthier, more confident, and better equipped to navigate life. In 2024 alone, 26,000 youth were empowered, and this number continues to grow. On average, Young Africa invests €725 per student. Every euro invested creates six times its value within five years.

Website: https://youngafrica.org