Who or what is 1 Million Strong?
The 1 Million Strong initiative is essentially a collaborative platform build around one common cause – raising the next generation of leaders. Our collaborative partners are made up of numerous organisations, not just in Africa but in many parts of the world. The potential to reach millions of young people starts becoming a reality if we are able to empower these organisations to go forth and leverage the power of synergy. We are not that naïve to believe that we have all the answers; neither are we that naïve to believe that we can do it on our own. We require physical, mental and financial resources to fulfil our dream. We need organisations and people to partner with us. We need divine intervention. We need you.
We recognize the need to give our youth a voice, to address their concerns and to develop among them the next generation of leaders.Education is our weapon; schools and universities are our citadels.
Our partners combine a multiplicity of skills, professions, programmes and delivery mechanisms to reach as many young people as possible in as many countries as possible, regardless of creed, colour, culture, language or ethnicity.
“Breakthrough” is a 12 module programme that forms the backbone of the work that we do in the schools. Breakthrough was birthed at 2 am one morning a number of years ago in the heart of a father who had to deal with the pain of a daughter, who he loved dearly, that had become a full blown heroin addict. On numerous occasions he visited his daughter on the streets of Hillbrow, a hell hole, not knowing whether he would see his daughter alive again.
Breakthrough was written with love and dedication not realising that many years later tens of thousands and maybe even hundreds of thousands of young people would be touched by the programme.
It took a number of years before that young lady finally walked out of Hillbrow, nothing more than flesh and bone, literally on the verge of death. The journey to recovery had begun. Many years later that young lady is now happily married, with a beautiful little girl. They as a family remain committed to helping those is need of recovery See for yourself www.shadowland.co.za
Breakthrough is dedicated to the many young people who get caught up in the life of addiction and destruction. It’s also dedicated to those who never made it, there are many. It’s dedicated to the many who have wisely chosen to say “NO” Finally, Breakthrough is dedicated to the many parents, teachers, social workers, volunteers and the many unsung heroes who are committed to fight for the rights of our youth and in raising the next generation of leaders.
May we all experience our own “Breakthrough”
It is for this reason that 1 Million Strong has been birthed; a collaboration of significant individuals and organisations with one goal in mind – to offer hope for the millions of young people out there. Schools are the citadels of our communities and we need to leverage off this. Over the past couple of years we have developed a curriculum which has been tried and tested. The results have been exceptional and we are ready now to multiply this formula exponentially. This can and will only happen when we come together and stand united in our quest to reach millions of young people. Our desire is that these young people will in turn become “transformers” themselves whereby they take responsibility; not only for their own lives, but that they will heed the call to be the next generation of leaders. This is 1 Million Strong.
“Because my conscience leaves me no other choice”
Martin Luther King
Why One Million Strong? We are told that we always have choices in life, there are however times when something, or somebody, grabs hold of you with a sense of destiny and calling where you are left without a choice. Life has a way of throwing us a couple of curved balls every now and again which aren’t that easy to play. We can spend the rest of our lives complaining that life’s not fair or we can take whatever is thrown our way and do something significant with it.
One Million Strong is the net result of one of those curved balls. It’s one of those initiatives where you simply have no choice.We are grateful for the many individuals and organisations who are as committed as we are who have chosen to work with us. These organisations are not just committed but rather feel compelled to reach and make a difference in the lives of the next generation. We hope that you will feel that same sense of compelling. It’s about reframing the future……
Raising a million young leaders globally probably seems impossible but when we begin to understand the principal of collaboration and synergy anything and everything becomes possible. We at 1 Million Strong are fully committed to building relationships and partnering with individuals, business owners, places of learning, governments, churches and any other institution who is committed to raising young leaders globally. We are humbled by the many partners who have come alongside us and want to work with us.
If you wish to be a part of raising the next generation of leaders please contact us.