15/05/2026
On the 3rd of August, 2025, we concluded a one-week Leadership Bootcamp with Secondary School students and mentees from 6 rural community schools across 4 different Local Government Areas in Ebonyi State.
It was beautiful.
Lives were changed.
Young people were inspired.
Hope was restored.
But after the program ended… another reality of this work confronted us.
At Kachem Young Initiative, we currently do not own a vehicle.
Most times, we have to hire vehicles for our outreaches and rural community activities. Sometimes the transport companies disappoint us after payment has already been made. Other times, the funds available are simply not enough for the kind of transportation these difficult terrains require.
Because of that, on this particular day, after dropping every single mentee safely at their various community centres, we had to return with an old bus we managed to access at the last minute.
And then, on our way back, it started raining.
The road was already terrible before the rain.
Swampy.
Slippery.
Almost impossible to navigate.
By around 7pm, the vehicle lost control, slipped into the swamp, and fell.
Thankfully, nobody was injured.
But we became stranded.
In the middle of rural communities.
At night.
With poor network.
On roads where vehicles hardly pass.
For hours, we trekked long distances through dark roads and bush paths just trying to find mobile network connection so we could call for help.
From about 8pm till almost midnight, we were stuck there.
Eventually, by God’s grace, we were able to reach Rev. Dr. Chris Aniamaka of Dominion City, who immediately sent a vehicle all the way from Abakaliki to rescue us.
That rescue journey alone took hours because of how far and difficult the roads were.
We finally arrived home exhausted, soaked, stressed… but grateful.
Grateful because despite the risks, the stress, and the transportation challenges, lives were still impacted.
And this experience reminded us of something important:
Transportation is one of the biggest limitations to the work we do.
The communities we serve are often:
• hard-to-reach
• underserved
• post-conflict
• deeply rural
• disconnected from opportunities
To truly serve them consistently, safely, and effectively, we need a strong and reliable vehicle built for these terrains.
Owning a proper outreach vehicle would mean:
safer movement for our team and mentees
consistent access to rural communities
freedom from unreliable transport arrangements
the ability to scale our impact across more communities
faster response to community needs and outreach opportunities
And most importantly:
it would help us reach more young lives with leadership, mentorship, education, and hope.
We may not have all the resources yet, but one thing is certain:
We will keep showing up.
We will keep serving.
We will keep reaching lives.
Because every transformed life reminds us that this work is worth it.
If you would like to sponsor, support, or partner with us towards getting a reliable outreach vehicle for our work, please reach out to us.
+234 814 998 6675
Social Media: Kachem Young Initiative
📧 [email protected]
DONATION DETAILS
Bank: Zenith Bank
Account Name: Kachem Young Initiative
NGN: 1212841375
EUR: 5081373324
GBP: 5061654267
USD: 5075416073
