By Taigu Muchiri and Mikhail Ben Nyamweya

USIU-Africa joins 80 campuses across the globe selected to host the United Nations Millennium Fellowship program that partners with the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI). The fellowship which unites and supports undergraduate leadership for the UN Sustainable Development Goals will start in September and end in November. This year, over 15,000 applicants from 1,458 campuses applied to join the program and after an aggressive recruitment process, 80 campuses (just 6%) in 20 nations were selected to host over 1,000 Millennium Fellows in the Class of 2020. The United Nations Academic Impact is an initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations in supporting and contributing to the realization of United Nations goals and mandates, including the promotion and protection of human rights, access to education, sustainability and conflict resolution.

The 20 students representing the university include Mikhail Ben Nyamweya (Senior, IR), who was selected as Campus Director, Tara Thiani (5th Year, Pharmacy), Ted Mitchell Apondi (Sophomore, IR), Coralie Irenge (Sophomore, Epidemiology and Biostatistics), Manasseh Baraka (Senior, IR), Joy Michelle Moraa (Senior, IR), Esther Syombua Ndaka (Junior, Epidemiology and Biostatistics), Osman Siyat Osman (Junior, Epidemiology and Biostatistics), Joy Murugi Muriithi(Junior, IR), Muthoni Kibaara (5th Year, Pharmacy), Frida Chege (Senior, IR), Mary Wangui Kibe (Junior, IR), Michel Ushindi Lunanga (Sophomore, IBA), Esther Isack Mkilania (Sophomore, IBA), Arnold Birasa (Sophomore, Epidemiology and Biostatistics), Karen Njoroge (Senior, IR), Timon Onyango (Junior, Epidemiology and Biostatistics), Rejoice Ruth David-Decker (Junior, Journalism), Prudence Wanjiru Komu (Junior, IR) and Wendy Ochola (Senior, IR).

In his congratulatory message to the Millennium Fellowship Class of 2020, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Paul Tiyambe Zeleza said that these young men and women have put USIU-Africa on the global map. “They will be joining their peers and putting their efforts together to make a long-lasting impact. We are proud of these young men and women who will be changing the world amid a global pandemic,” read his statement.

The Millennium Fellowship is a semester-long leadership development program that brings together students from across the world to solve the world’s most pressing problems and will be engaging in projects in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The complete list of the Millennium Fellowship class of 2020 can be found on their website https://www.millenniumfellows.org/meet-the-fellows