Over the years LAUF has impacted lives of youth through learning that builds self-esteem and allows them to manifest their creative potential. Innovation born out of a synergy of Indigenous and western knowledge is an enabler in finding sustainable solutions to community problems. The impact on communities becomes powerful when youth become agents of change.
Here is a glimpse of our impact in diverse communities. These are contextual to the challenges faced by each community.
LAUF is making a major impact on the lives of remote Indigenous populations of Canada. Capacity building in small remote, fly-in communities is a major challenge. LAUF projects include helping Indigenous teen mothers get back to school and complete education; preparing youth to participate in the digital economy including online learning; enabling communities to address their health challenges (Pan American World Health Organization Project); addressing racism and gender-based violence; innovatively creating employment opportunities; facilitating systemic changes and decolonization through reviving traditional knowledge and language www.we-ta-ma-kay.ca.
Youth in remote areas in India, who do not have the resources or ability to travel and gain learning, access our courses at local NGOs and charities. Underprivileged girls are impacted the greatest. Our online modules are easily accessible in India which has the 2nd largest base of internet users in the world. Tribal girls who are vulnerable to trafficking have experienced a drastic positive change. During COVID, our mobile phone platform https://lauf.mobi.molo.site/ helped spread home care tips in India and Nepal to reduce hospital load. LAUF used the platform to help peri- urban children in India continue school from home during the pandemic.
LAUF’s online learning modules are based on stakeholder engagement and extensive research of the local environment and opportunities. Our local partners who are experts in different fields provide context and content which is customized and delivered online in English and the local language. We observe that youth achieve success and build self-esteem through contextual learning and skill building. Youth become powerful champions of sustainable change once their potential is manifested.
Empowered youth are prepared to transform their communities to ‘Smart Communities’. LAUF endeavours to make a sustainable scalable impact by leveraging human potential and building capacity in learning and sharing. We are developing a Scalable Model of ‘Smart Communities’ in rural areas in partnership with experts from the Fields Institute of Mathematical Sciences, an international think tank. This model can impact 3.4 billion people living in rural areas and millions who are working in peri-urban areas but not out of poverty. Smart Communities have the innovative capacity to address all dimensions of Sustainable Development Goals.