Add Your Heading Text Here

My name is Shania Achieng. I am a SAYDS fellow, an organization that deals with Youth-led development through solving social issues. SAYDS is an acronym for System Acumen Youth-led  Development Solutions. It advocates for social issues such as teenage pregnancy, mental health,  drug abuse e.t.c

The main aim of SAYDS is to reduce the number of school dropouts and early marriage and improve mental health and other social issues through counseling, workshops, and classes. Before, I didn’t know about system thinking.

Generally, SAYDS has illuminated the layers arising from the interconnection between many feedbacks; hence these interconnections are the main reasons why the behaviors of social issues in a are unpredictable.

Prior to being a SAYDs fellow I had challenges designing projects and approaches that seek to address a particular challenge within the web of interconnected social challenges  On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate myself 3 in tackling complex social problems.

However, I now feel I have acquired the necessary skills and ability to have an effective starting and delivery path to implementing projects with complex challenges . On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate myself 8 on tackling complex social problems. I have greatly assisted AED. The organization tackles complex social problems that reduce school dropouts of teenage girls.  There were an average of 20 teenage girls from classes 6 to 8 in 2012. The organization provided sanitary towels, milk, and undergarments.

Before joining SAYDS, I could barely use complex system thinking in AED  Organization. However, I have gained a holistic view of it through attending extensive pieces of training, seminars, and workshops. Also, I have used their methods to tackle complex social problems, including questionnaires, interviews,  observations, and documentaries.

I am passionate about change in myself and those that are around me. I’m hoping to achieve small acts of kindness, e.g., listening to people’s views, volunteering in my community, and being driven by ideas and actions with real world implications. I’ve been getting involved as a volunteer by mentoring young people and youth change and helping by donating to the less fortunate in the community.

In the long run, I want to contribute to the fight against social injustices by;  empowering youths with skills of practical solutions for lasting social issues and creating developmental and empowerment programs that can eradicate social issues, and aid  youths to be Systems thinkers around the World

I plan to implement and empower other youths and organizations using complex system thinking, applying the knowledge through different activities in my environment for youth development. I will engage myself in Complexity thinking with other organizations apart from SAYDS, help in solving complex social issues, by applying the approaches in my day-to-day activities.