My name is David Kamara, a young Sierra Leonean nearly turning 27 years old. I hailed from a deprived and underprivileged community where the challenges impeding the growth of young people are overwhelming. Being a direct victim of the 11 years civil war in my country, my early struggle to acquire quality education developed the motivation in me to change my community. For the past five years, I have actively engaged in advocacy and community outreach programs that have socially impacted many young people in my community. My engagement with many youth-focused institutions, coupled with my research work, primarily focusing on addressing challenges young people face has realigned my vision towards engaging in youth empowerment initiative that will equip young people with digital skills, financial literacy, entrepreneurship skills and advocacy skills.

I am highly interested in Social impact, technology and youth leadership. To foster this interest, I have embarked on deliberate and conscious efforts that primarily focus on social impact, technology and youth leadership, through volunteerism in many humanitarian organizations.

I currently serve as National Youth Leader for the Sierra Leone Adult Education Association Youth Forum and Coordinator for the Civil Society Youth Forum-Sierra Leone (on voluntary basis). My role in both institutions is to motivate, inspire, coordinate and consolidate efforts of young people to lead solution-driven initiatives that address challenges that affect them in their communities.

I have identified the integral role of technology to take my idea to the next level. As such, as a way of translating my interest and commitment into action that will impact wider communities, I have established a Youth-focused Non-profit Organization called Aspire! Youth Empowerment and Innovation Hub which seeks to equip young people with improved digital, innovative, financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills that will transform them into a valuable resource that society can rely on to shift the paradigm in the socio-economic development trajectory.