Social Innovation Academy (SINA) – Transforming Challenges into Possibilities

It was serendipity that brought my daughter Jasmine and I to the Ugandan village campus of SINA, the Social Innovation Academy, in 2016. While visiting other organizations we support in the region, we booked a stay at SINA thinking it was an alternative B&B. Within minutes, we knew we’d landed in an extraordinary place.

The values of connection, collaboration, creation, and community that I hold so dear were evident everywhere you looked. Through a “freesponsible” community approach, scholars between the ages of 18 and 27 years old were transforming their lives, overcoming severe challenges or trauma, to recognize and realize their own potential. Moving from the margins to entrepreneurship, SINA nurtures and shines a light on these young people as they grow and make significant contributions to their families, communities, and the world.

Founder Etienne Salborn has created a replicable method of transformation with transferrable learnings that can be taken elsewhere in Africa and beyond, while developing and implementing simple yet life-changing technology. I was so moved by the work of SINA and the stories of the young people we met, I commissioned this Case Study to further highlight their impact and learn more about some of the graduates.

Read the full case study HERE.