The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is the flagship program of the U.S. Government's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Established in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship has brought nearly 6,500 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa to the United States for academic and leadership training. The Fellows, between the ages of 25 and 35, are accomplished innovators and leaders in their communities and countries.
IPC participant Mahfuz Alabidun has more than five years of experience in prison education and reform. Mahfuz is the founder and executive director of Inmates Educational Foundation, focusing on providing literacy, numeracy, and adult and advanced education to inmates and incarcerated juveniles as a means of ensuring that both are well educated to enable them to forge ahead in life with a liberated mind. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, Mahfuz plans to achieve a five-year goal for inmates and juveniles at correctional centers in Nigeria. By 2029, he hopes to cover 20 correctional centers in Nigerian states in addition to the 1278 inmates and juveniles already impacted, because every inmate deserves a quality education.
IPC participant Mahfuz Alabidun has more than five years of experience in prison education and reform. Mahfuz is the founder and executive director of Inmates Educational Foundation, focusing on providing literacy, numeracy, and adult and advanced education to inmates and incarcerated juveniles as a means of ensuring that both are well educated to enable them to forge ahead in life with a liberated mind. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, Mahfuz plans to achieve a five-year goal for inmates and juveniles at correctional centers in Nigeria. By 2029, he hopes to cover 20 correctional centers in Nigerian states in addition to the 1278 inmates and juveniles already impacted, because every inmate deserves a quality education.