From Empowerment to Exploitation: The Harrowing Experience of an African Youth at #UNGA78

Organisations that purport to empower African children, youth, women and girls and then mishandle them need to be held accountable. I have never gone through anything like this before. I have had a tough week at #UNGA78; no young person should ever go through this again.

When I came for HLPF 2023 in July, I was sponsored by The Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA) under the Bakhita Partnership for Education umbrella, an organisation I held in high regard. I respect the Catholic Church and its involvement in Education.

Standard practice is that when an organisation sponsors you for an official trip, they should give you a stipend to cater for your expenses. I insisted on being given this money and was asked to draw up a budget, which I did. I was given USD 600. I was also told that since I would be staying in residential housing for Jesuit Priests, I would have enough food, and I was free to go to the kitchen and eat what was available or cook if I wanted. After travelling for 30 hours with a domestic flight and Ethiopian Airways from Cape Town, I arrived at the Jesuit residence in NYC and was informed I could not eat there because I was not a priest but could use the tea bags if I wanted. I thought it was a miscommunication, so I communicated this to my sponsoring organisation the following morning. Fr Charles Chilufya, who heads JENA, said he would work on it. He ghosted me after that and did not follow up. I swept this issue under the carpet. I bought food using part of the USD 600, and some days, I got food from a Franciscan priest.

Upon my return to Cape Town, we started planning for a girls event at Fordham Law School to be held on the sidelines of #UNGA78. This time, there would be more young African women travelling, myself included. The partners for this event were the Conrad Hilton Foundation and The African Union International Centre for the Education of Girls and Women in Africa. However, I still remember the food incident in July, so I keep insisting in every meeting on some bare minimum matters; That we be informed where we will get food, that we be given a sufficient stipend to be in NYC and have accommodation within reasonable commuting distance from Fordham Law School and the UN Headquarters. Amid my busy school schedule, I get concerned that we are planning an event, yet these issues have not been addressed. My gut begins to tell me I should not travel to NYC this time round. However, with my family going through financial difficulties in the last month and my mother’s illness, I convinced myself that maybe through this trip, I could change my environment and have a fresh perspective.

Before departure, we were eventually informed that the Jesuit residence in NYC was packed and we had to seek alternatives. The agreement was to use rooms with twin beds (that’s two people per room ). Unfortunately, this hotel was all the way in New Jersey, and I had to commute two hours from JFK Airport in NYC to the hotel. In fact, having informed him of the financial situation at home, I asked him to request an Uber for me from the airport to the hotel. He insisted that I spend my own money and I would be reimbursed. I only have about Ksh 40000 (USD 271) at this point so I spent USD 170 on a taxi after negotiating with the driver. When I got to the hotel, the receptionist informed me that I was not booked there and my name was not in the system.

I quickly called Fr Charles, who then told me to call an agent who had booked the hotel. There was a back and forth, and I was eventually made to share a room with two other girls who had arrived two days earlier because I was engaged with school. Because of this back and forth, I did not get to the UN office on time, and I eventually could not get a pass to access any of the UNGA sessions. The hotel was over 1 hour commuting distance from the UN. The room we were in was not sufficiently connected to electricity or WiFi. Fr Charles did not check whether I had managed to get into the hotel but sent me questions for a panel discussion for his event. At this point I was crying, I was angry and frustrated.

Later in the evening, I received a frantic call to our room at the hotel from a lady in Kenya who was concerned that there was an 18-year-old girl who had been sponsored by JENA and had said she had no money, food or accommodation. She was also told to stay in the same room. We were now four girls sharing a room of two. Fr Charles then starts asking me to give the girl 10 dollars to buy food. I asked him why he did not give us money or tell us how we would receive it upon our arrival in NYC. He asked me how??I expected him to give us the money. He also told me he was staying in another part of the city in NYC, (I don’t know where).

Amid this, I received a call on my WhatsApp from Jenny from Mtoto News (a digital and media platform whose mission is to make children visible), stating that the girl was one of the beneficiaries of their organisation and that I was now the alleged Chaperone. I say no, I am not taking legal responsibility I did not sign up for. Even though the girl was 18, in my mind and in those circumstances, she was still a child because she was in high school.

I sent Fr Charles an email stating I was not comfortable with the situation and should inform us how we would get to Fordham University the following morning. He ghosted me again. The following morning, there was a back and forth of how to get to the venue. We had no money and no way to transport ourselves. I heard him say to the other girls on the phone, why don’t you guys have money like that? Apparently, the two girls who had arrived two days earlier and had been given USD 250 each. One of them told me they had to fight for it and that, in fact on the day of their arrival, they had to wait 2 hours before the hotel checked them in because there were some issues with payment for the hotel.

By the time someone from the AU ordered an Uber for us almost 2 hours later, I was drained and had a headache. I chose not to show up for the event. Later in the evening, I was told the others were given USD 750 at the end of the day, and the 18-year-old would be moved to another hotel. I requested him to give the other girls my 750, and I would sign the necessary documents online, but there was no response. He never reached out to me after that. The next day, one of the girls told me she had talked to Fr Charles and he had said he would give me my 750 and that we should meet him at the AU mission to the UN at 2 pm. When we eventually got to 6 minutes walking distance to the AU mission, security would not let us through because we did not have access.

We tried calling Fr Charles and sending our live location, but he did not pick the call or communicate. Eventually, the other two girls had to leave for a separate engagement so I stayed behind outside the Pfizer building in NYC, hoping he would reach out to me. I did not hear from him, and I started crying. My phone was going off, and I decided to return to the hotel. It cost me roughly 8 dollars back using a subway and then a bus. I had nightmares that night and I really cried. I reached out to a friend who lives in NYC and told her of my predicament. She told me she could host me until my departure date.

Just as I checked out on 20 September, Fr Charles sent me a text asking me to meet him at Fordham University. This was now day 4 in NYC. He had not been picking up my calls and responding to my concerns for over two months. By this time, I was emotionally exhausted and feeling exploited. I missed out on all events and engagements I was to participate in during the UN General Assembly (UNGA), and I realised I could not equate this to USD 750. I decided not to engage with him any more and checked out of the hotel.

I no longer felt emotionally safe staying in the room because one of my roommates at the hotel lectured me on why I should be civil and respect my elders and that anyone else would have given everything to be in NYC. The worst part is that from this experience, there was much power, gender and economic dynamics involved. African youth go through so much to access global opportunities when they are economically and racially disadvantaged to the extent that when injustice occurs, we are supposed just to be grateful that we are getting a few crumbs. I have engaged with many organisations throughout my 9-year advocacy journey, and I have never gone through something like this. I had self-funded myself twice before to the USA when I had money and lived on a tight budget, and even then, I did not struggle like this. I made those financial sacrifices as an investment in my career.

I know when something is off because I have been treated with dignity and respect. I doubt there are any redress mechanisms for my situation. I am only sharing this, so that another young person does not have to go through this again with this or any other organisation.

Sharing this has been challenging. At the back of my mind, I have asked myself; what if I am blacklisted, and no organisation engages with me again because I spoke up? What if people laugh at my situation? The reality is that even if you see a young person, especially one from Africa, in New York or any other global stage, it does not necessarily mean they have money. They are probably looking for opportunities that will eventually reward them financially and professionally through the networks they make.

I have decided not to feel sorry for myself. I am well-educated, skilled, and an expert in what I do and talk about, and I will continue to learn. I have returned to Cape Town and will focus on finishing my Masters degree. I am hopeful that on the other side of this, my situation will change for the better, and when I am in a position of power, no person will go through this under my watch, especially a child or a young person.

#UNGA78 #YouthEmpowerment #Gender #AfricanYouth #MyStory #Africa