By David Pwalua, Country Director of AfriKids Ghana
7 August 2024
Today marks a major milestone in AfriKids’ journey and the birth of a new chapter, an exciting one, for all of us. As we enter our third decade of creating lasting change for children, I am incredibly proud to unveil AfriKids’ new look and feel! This rebrand signifies more than just a visual update; it reflects our commitment to the power of African-led change and our vision for the future: ‘Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow.’
The Need for Change
Over the last 20 years, AfriKids’ projects in northern Ghana, entirely designed and delivered by local people, have kept hundreds of thousands of children in northern Ghana healthy, safe and in school.
2 years ago, we began consultations with communities and local stakeholders to reflect on what we’ve done well, what we’ve learned, and how we can do more for children in the future. As we did this, we recognised the need for our brand to better represent who we are and what we strive to accomplish, and we felt it was time more people knew about our work, in the hope that we can reach more children, and perhaps inspire others to adopt our locally-led approach.
And it comes at a time when the need to amplify our voice has never been more urgent.
Vibrant people power
The new brand’s guiding philosophy is “vibrant people power” – aiming to celebrate and authentically represent the vibrancy and “people power” at the heart of communities AfriKids works with to drive change for children.
The rebrand process was deeply rooted in community consultation and involvement. We engaged in extensive discussions and workshops with stakeholders from AfriKids Ghana and UK, incorporating feedback from community members, local artists, and leaders.
Thoughtful, strategic choices have been made to disrupt harmful, inaccurate narratives about Africa and instead highlight positive and inspiring stories of how effective, sustainable change is being achieved by children and communities themselves.
What it means
The visual identity – including a new logo, graphic elements and colour palette – are all inspired by the environment here in northern Ghana, where AfriKids’ projects and headquarters are based.
Our new brand is inspired by symbols and artwork seen across west Africa, including the designs traditionally painted by women in the village of Sirigu, where our story began.
Our new logo incorporates these shapes in a reimagined version of the “Nsoromma” in earlier logos, a west African Adinkra symbol representing guardianship. Our new interpretation includes a variety of shapes to represent our diverse community, arranged in circles as they stand together, surrounding and supporting the “I” in our name which represents a child.
Our updated colour palette is inspired by the vibrant landscapes and photography AfriKids is well known for. Bright, bold, and full of life, just like the incredible people we work with every day. It reflects the energy and optimism at the heart of our mission.
The use of circles represent the power of these communities coming together for children.
Combined, these elements are a symbol of power and potential of local communities to drive change and determine their own futures. Something that we at AfriKids profoundly believe is the key for creating deep and lasting change for our children.
Clearer messaging, powerful stories
We’ve run many projects and initiatives over the years, all working to ensure children’s rights. Moving forward, we have streamlined our focus around what we do best and what we believe has the greatest impact: unlocking the power of communities to help ensure every child’s right to education.
Our updated brand message emphasises AfriKids’ values – including “saying no to pity” and children and communities being at the centre and as far as possible telling their stories in their own words.
Changing the Narrative
By 2050, 40% of the world’s children will be African. And right now, nearly 9 in 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa* are not learning – unable to read a simple text by age 10i. Put simply, tomorrow’s leaders aren’t learning.
AfriKids is on a mission to help change this in Ghana, with a novel approach. While many solutions to this learning crisis target schools and classrooms to improve the supply of quality education, AfriKids specialises in building demand for change within communities to drive self-sufficient and sustainable solutions themselves.
We aim to build a movement united in proving that, with the right support, local communities hold huge power and potential to drive real and lasting change for the next generation.
We are so grateful to our supporters who share our ambitious goals and who are on this journey with us – and to all the people who contributed their time and funds – in and outside AfriKids – to make this project possible.
Join the movement!
We’re ready to shake things up and shout loud and proud about doing things differently. We want to bust myths, challenge misconceptions, and see Africa’s children write a new, brilliant story.
Click below to show your support for African-led change to see more children learning today and leading a brighter future tomorrow.
*Sub-Saharan Africa as referred to as a measurable region for the study in https://www.unicef.cn/en/press-releases/africa-will-be-home-2-5-children-2050-unicef-report
Author: David Pwalua, Country Director of AfriKids Ghana
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