Youth AgriChange Network (YAN) equips day school graduates with the entrepreneurship, digital, technical, and life skills needed to build a better future — for themselves and their communities.
The Challenge
In Burera District, thousands of young people graduate from day high schools each year. For those who do not qualify for university, graduation marks not a beginning — but the start of unemployment, uncertainty, and hardship.
Without marketable skills, digital literacy, or confidence, many fall into cycles of poverty that ripple across families and communities: early marriages, alcohol dependency, and deepening food insecurity.
Our StoryBurera District, Northern Rwanda
Our Approach
YAN runs a one-year, full-time training school combining classroom learning with real, income-generating practical work.
Each student trains on a dedicated laptop, learning IT services, Irembo platforms, digital marketing, printing, and photocopying — skills that immediately translate to income.
Students learn welding and metalwork, producing doors, windows, gates, and roofing at the local Agakiriro center — creating real goods for real markets.
Poultry farming provides hands-on business practice. Students manage egg and meat production, and profits are reinvested to sustain the program and support scholars.
Strong English skills unlock employment and opportunity. Every student builds practical communication confidence to succeed in professional settings.
Business fundamentals, financial planning, and market access coaching help scholars become self-sufficient entrepreneurs — not just job seekers.
Family planning, responsible choices, self-confidence, and community building form the foundation for a stable, healthy adult life.
"Young people who once saw no future are now building one — and YAN is proving a model capable of transforming entire communities, not just individuals."
— Gad Nkurunziza, Founder, Youth AgriChange Network
Join Us
Whether you are a donor, partner organisation, or young person looking to enrol, there is a place for you in the YAN community.
YAN was born from lived reality. Our founder, Gad Nkurunziza, grew up in Burera District and has seen first-hand how unemployment, poverty, and lack of skills shape the lives of young people — and their families.
Founder — Gad Nkurunziza
Our Founder
Gad Nkurunziza was born and raised in Burera District, Northern Rwanda — the same community YAN now serves. Growing up, he witnessed the consequences of youth unemployment in his own family: a father who left school early due to poverty, turned to alcohol out of frustration, and a younger brother who developed kwashiorkor from malnutrition. These experiences were not unique; they reflected a pattern across his entire community.
In 2023, Gad taught at a local day school on a wage of $1.50 per day. He saw students struggling with English, teachers lacking motivation, and a system graduating young people without the tools to find work. That experience lit the spark for YAN.
Gad attended Eskanombe Efotec and went on to become a Bridge2Rwanda Scholar, a Wesleyan African Scholar, and an Isomo Academy Scholar. In 2024, he received the prestigious Davis Project for Peace Award — one of the most competitive youth peace and development grants in the world — for his work founding YAN. He is also a Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship Fellow and a 2026 Junior Summer Institute Fellow in Public Policy and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Gad launched YAN not as an outside observer, but as someone who lived the problem — and is now recognised internationally for his commitment to solving it.
Recognition & Credentials
Gad's work has been recognised by leading institutions across Rwanda and the world — validating YAN's approach and amplifying its impact.
2024 Awardee
One of the most competitive youth peace and development awards in the world, granted for founding YAN and demonstrating measurable community impact in Burera District.
2026 Junior Summer Institute · Public Policy & International Affairs
Selected for Princeton University's highly selective summer programme in public policy and international affairs — training the next generation of global leaders.
Social Impact Fellowship · Wesleyan University
The Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship supports student founders building ventures with measurable social impact. YAN's model was refined and redesigned through this fellowship.
Wesleyan University
Selected as a Wesleyan African Scholar — a programme identifying and supporting exceptional young African leaders with transformative potential.
Bridge2Rwanda Programme
Bridge2Rwanda identifies Rwanda's highest-potential students and prepares them for world-class educational opportunities. Gad is a graduate of this competitive pathway.
Isomo Academy · Rwanda
Isomo Academy nurtures the next generation of Rwandan leaders through rigorous academic and leadership development. Gad's foundation was shaped here before his international studies.
We believe every young person who graduates from school deserves a real chance — regardless of whether they qualify for university.
We envision communities where the cycles of poverty, early marriage, and alcohol dependency are replaced with entrepreneurship, health, and hope.
"My family's story is not unique. I have witnessed the same pattern in neighbours, extended family, and communities across Burera. That is precisely why I know this problem can be solved — and why YAN exists."
— Gad Nkurunziza, Founder
Our Team
A dedicated team of educators, mentors, and community leaders committed to creating lasting change in Burera.
Founder & Executive Director
Born and raised in Burera. Wesleyan African Scholar · Bridge2Rwanda Scholar · Isomo Academy Scholar · 2024 Davis Project for Peace Awardee · Patricelli Center Social Impact Fellow · 2026 Princeton PPIA Fellow.
Digital Literacy Lead
Delivers computer skills, Irembo platform training, and digital marketing workshops to scholars in YAN's computer lab.
Life Skills & Wellbeing
Guides students through family planning, responsible choices, self-confidence building, and healthy community relationships.
Our Values
We reach young people before they enter cycles of poverty, not after. Early intervention creates lasting change.
YAN was built from within the community it serves — by someone who understands the problem from the inside out.
Every programme delivers real, measurable outcomes: skills, income, employment, and restored confidence.
YAN's full-time one-year training school combines classroom learning with hands-on, income-generating practical work — giving scholars both skills and confidence.
The YAN Training School
20 scholars per cohort. Full-time attendance. Real income earned. Real skills built. A career advisor connecting graduates to internships and employment.
Students train on dedicated laptops and operate an IT service shop providing Irembo government platform access, printing, photocopying, and digital marketing services to the community.
This track provides both technical skills and a live business environment — scholars earn income while they learn.
In partnership with the local Agakiriro workshop center, scholars receive hands-on welding training from an experienced instructor. They produce metallic windows, gates, doors, and roofing for sale.
Market access support ensures graduates can continue as self-employed metalworkers.
Using a modern poultry farm with disease-resistant breeds, scholars learn chicken feeding, vaccination, and small-scale farm management. Egg and meat production revenues fund the programme.
Business planning and financial management are integrated throughout.
Dedicated teachers deliver English communication skills and entrepreneurship foundations. A wellness educator covers family planning, responsible choices, self-confidence, and community building.
These skills form the bedrock that makes every other track more effective.
Programme Timeline
NGO registration, infrastructure setup (poultry farm, computer lab, welding equipment), recruitment of 20 scholars, and hiring of instructors. Partnerships secured with funders and local institutions.
Full-time training school in operation. Scholars combine daily classroom learning with income-generating practical activities. Confidence, agency, and direction are rebuilt alongside technical skills.
Scholars are supported into employment, internships, or self-employment. Data is collected, outcomes are measured, and the model is refined for the next cohort.
12-month programme cycle
Who Can Apply
YAN is designed specifically for young people who have graduated from a day high school in Burera District and are not attending university.
You have completed secondary education at a local day school and are not continuing to university.
You live in Burera District and are committed to attending full-time for one year.
You are motivated to build skills, take on practical challenges, and invest in your own future and community.
Every student who graduates from YAN is one fewer young person trapped in unemployment. Here is how we track and communicate our results.
Year-One Targets
Measurement Framework
Measurable improvement in digital, technical, and entrepreneurial skills tracked through practical assessments throughout the year.
Revenue from poultry, welding, and IT services is recorded to demonstrate real economic activity created by scholars during training.
Three months post-graduation, we follow up with every scholar to track employment, internships, and business launches.
Student surveys and structured interviews measure self-confidence, life planning, and mental wellbeing at intake and exit.
NGO registration, infrastructure completion, and partnership formation are tracked as organisational health indicators.
We document wider community effects — reduced early marriages, improved family incomes, and community members served by scholar-run businesses.
The Bigger Picture
Youth unemployment in Burera is not just an economic problem. It drives early marriages, alcohol abuse, unwanted pregnancies, and food insecurity — including severe malnutrition diseases like kwashiorkor in young children.
YAN's preventative model reaches young people before they enter these cycles. Every scholar who graduates and becomes self-sufficient is a node of stability in their family and community — reducing these broader social harms for the next generation.
Our founder's younger brother suffered kwashiorkor due to family poverty. That lived experience is why YAN measures not just employment, but the full spectrum of community wellbeing.
Community impact beyond the classroom
"Success means young people who once saw no future are now building one — and a model capable of transforming entire communities."
— YAN Impact Framework, 2025
YAN welcomes donors, NGO partners, volunteers, and institutions who share our commitment to youth empowerment in Rwanda. There is a role for every kind of supporter.
How You Can Help
Your financial support directly funds scholarships, infrastructure, instructor salaries, and daily meals for students. Every dollar creates measurable change.
NGOs, schools, companies, and government institutions can partner with YAN to co-deliver training, provide internship placements, supply materials, or share expertise.
Skilled volunteers — in IT, business, agriculture, English, or welfare — can contribute expertise to YAN's programme, in person or remotely.
Partnership Types
Universities and training centres can partner to provide curriculum support, learning materials, and pathways for YAN graduates to continue their education.
Businesses can offer internships, procurement of scholar-produced goods (metalwork, poultry products), and sponsorships for scholar cohorts.
Aligned organisations can provide technical assistance, fund specific programme components, and help expand YAN's reach across Northern Rwanda.
Local and national government can support YAN through accreditation, land access, referrals from employment offices, and alignment with Rwanda's national youth strategy.
"We are not asking people to solve our community's problems for us. We are asking partners to walk alongside us as we solve them ourselves."
— Gad Nkurunziza, Founder
Ready to Partner?
Whether you are an individual donor or a major institution, we would love to hear from you.
Whether you are a prospective student, donor, partner, or journalist — reach out. We will respond within two business days.
Send a Message
Contact Details
For Students
Intake for the next cohort begins in May. Send us a message using the form and select "Prospective student" — we'll send you the application details.
Learn About the ProgrammeEvery dollar donated to YAN goes directly to scholarship support, infrastructure, instructor salaries, and student meals. No corporate overhead. No waste. Real impact.
Make a Donation
Select a giving level or enter a custom amount.
YAN is a registered NGO in Rwanda. Donations support programme operations directly.
Where Your Money Goes
Cover the full cost of one student's training for a month: meals, materials, instruction, and equipment access.