Creating pathways to opportunity

In partnership with Mastercard Foundation, Save the Children led a successful six-year integrated livelihood program – Youth in Action – that gave rural out-of-school youth between the ages of 12 to 18, the opportunity to achieve a better and more sustainable future.

Youth in Action built young people’s foundational skills and offered enterprise development, apprenticeship and vocational training options to create a lasting future they can be proud of. 

Working in Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda, Youth in Action reached over 41,000 girls and boys.

For more information on Youth in Action and to access research and learning on youth sustainable livelihoods, visit our site here.


After Youth in Action:

  • In Burkina Faso, 75% of YiA graduates owned businesses, compared to 26% before YiA
  • In Ethiopia, the dollar value of youth’s savings increased by 7 times
  • In Malawi, 64% of youth had high financial literacy skills, compared to only 22% before YiA
  • In Uganda, the daily income of youth nearly doubled
  • In Egypt, 85% of female youth were working, compared to only 13% before YiA

“Building skills is like building a wall with a strong foundation, it will never let you down.” Mohammed, Egypt

“Before YiA, I was missing an important part in my life: education. I hated that I started to forget how to read and write. Because of YiA, I got my education back, in a useful way that will benefit me forever.” Hana, Ethiopia