Records of YMCA international work in Africa

The first YMCA in Africa was established in Liberia in 1881. It was only a small group of men and short-lived, but was soon after re-established and popular. North American YMCA work in Africa began with an appeal made in 1889 for men and women to go to Africa as missionaries. The first United States YMCA representatives sailed for Africa in 1890. YMCAs began to spread throughout the African continent, becoming a crux for the development of many communities. Many African Nations' YMCAs became members of the World Alliance of YMCAs.

North American YMCA assistance in Africa took place primarily through the International Committee of the YMCAs of the United States and Canada and in later years through the International Division of the YMCA of the USA. Prominent International Committee members who focused a significant portion of their assistance on Africa included Moses Perry, Desta Girma, Marvin Jay Ludwig, Steve D. LaVake and Daniel Penick Tyler. These men helped to create and secure many developmental programs, procure outside funding and make the needs in Africa well known. Though African YMCA development through North American assistance occurred as early as 1890, it was not prevalent until the 1950s, 1960s and even later, when droughts and war brought worldwide attention to the continent of Africa's ongoing plight. The attention helped the North American YMCA International Committee to gain assistance from United States YMCAs to fund projects, the supply labor and organize the exchange of YMCA members for projects such as camp programs and vocational training.

Programs in Africa sponsored by the YMCA focused primarily on youth, who formed the majority of its population and were seen as representing Africa's future. It was believed that if the youth of Africa was able to gain education in the correct areas they would be able to lead without assistance and secure the future well-being of the continent. YMCA youth development programs in Africa included health education, vocational training, crafting development, small business development, rural development, family planning, refugee assistance and rehabilitation, environmental protection, youth sports projects, youth job development, leadership training, young women training and education and camp programs that included farm training.

Another area of focus for YMCA work in the continent of Africa was the continual problems brought about by war and drought. Many YMCA relief efforts were continuously underway in Africa, and many occasions where the YMCA either asked assistance from outside agencies or simply made them aware of the problems that Africa was facing and suggested that they get involved. Among the agencies that the YMCA worked with were USAID (United States Agency for International Development), Africare, UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief), the Red Cross and the Peace Corps, to name a few. The Y's Men International was also quite helpful to the relief efforts and the individual YMCAs in Africa. The YMCA's relief work played a significant role in the survival of the African citizens at times, and established the organization as a trusted agency concerned with the well being of Africans.

The African Alliance of YMCAs was founded in 1977 and became the umbrella body for all African YMCA movements. As of 2011 the continent of Africa supported movements in 22 separate African countries and the African Alliance of YMCAs was the leading pan-African youth development network on the African continent. Youth, gender and environmental work have continued as the main interests, with top goals being empowerment through education and leadership development.. The African Alliance of YMCAs also supplied associated African nations membership to the World Alliance of YMCAs. This association has helped the African YMCAs stay aligned with the mission statement of the YMCA itself while remaining true to Africa's needs. A continual dialog with and association to the rest of the World's YMCAs was also secured within this membership.

[Historical Information largely adapted and quoted from World Service: A History of the Foreign Work and World Service of the Young Men's Christian Associations of the United States and Canada, (New York: Association Press, 1957) by Kenneth Scott Latourette, from "African Alliance of YMCAs" (http://www.africaymca.org), and from the collection.]