Youth Power Kulehe : We Are Not Waiting | Safe Light Initiative

In Ethiopia, a quiet myth persists that young people must wait to demonstrate their power. They are told to wait: to be older, to gain experience, or for the right time.

However, The Kulehe Project proves that we’re not waiting. We are building. Leading. And transforming our realities — now, showcasing the true Youth Power in Ethiopia.

Safe Light Initiative leads the kulehe project, with support from Edukans and funded by the ILO’s Youth-to-Youth Fund, is not just another youth program. It’s a powerful statement: even in under-resourced communities, resilience is not rare. Opportunity is.

🔍 How Kulehe Unleashes Youth Power in Ethiopia: Designed for inclusion, Delivered with Purpose

“Kulehe” means everyone. But here, it didn’t stay as a slogan. Instead, it truly showed up in the room where refugee youth, young mothers, youth with disabilities, and unemployed youth shared space, not only as learners but as creators of their own futures.

Rather than being told what to do, they were challenged to reimagine what’s possible. 
And they rose to it.

💬 “I’m Not Just a Participant. I’m a Planner.”

That’s what one youth said after completing the business idea development workshop. 
It’s more than training its mindset change. Through skills in communication, planning, teamwork, and leadership, the project empowered participants not just to find jobs but to create value.

As a result, some are now preparing to launch micro-businesses. Others are forming groups to solve challenges in their own communities. And all of them left with one thing: belief in their own agency. This demonstrates the profound Youth Power in Ethiopia that kulehe helps unlock.

🧩 Policy Meets Practice

The Kulehe Project also brought stakeholders together from refugee service providers to local private companies and government offices to discuss how we can move beyond limitations.
The result? 
Stakeholders held honest conversations around access to finance and legal work permits for refugees, and youth employment pathways that are inclusive by design. This collaborations is crucial because change doesn’t just happen in workshops; it happens in systems. And Kulehe is effectively working on both.

🌱 Kulehe Is a Beginning, Not an End

This is more than a pilot project. It’s a blueprint for how youth-led development should look and feel.

It centers the voices of those most excluded. 
It trusts that when youth are equipped and included, they don’t just participate, they lead. 
And it proves that “everyone” isn’t a dream. It’s a strategy. And it works. This initiative powerfully highlights the potential for Youth Power in Ethiopia and beyond.

📍 Kulehe is part of Safelight Initiative’s mission to ignite youth leadership, inclusion, and sustainable impact across Ethiopia and beyond.

Learn more about Safe Light Initiative’s ongoing efforts to ignite youth leadership and sustainable impact across Ethiopia and beyond. https://safelightet.org/