Change 1's Life

Angola has markedly lower rates of electrification and literacy than many of its neighbours in Southern Africa, with less than 40% of its population currently able to access electricity and its youth literacy rate falling behind in recent years. Through Change 1’s Life, Edmilson has stepped in to help solve these almost overwhelming problems and the many gaps in the country’s infrastructure.
Edmilson attended the One Young World Summit at the Hague in 2018. He found it to be a deeply motivating experience, broadening his horizons and giving him a platform to develop the network necessary to build his projects. Change 1’s Life began with a series of smaller initiatives, including education in rural areas and distributing alternative light sources to discourage kerosene usage. These early projects gave Edmilson and his team the community exposure, momentum, and data they needed to begin their main initiative: the transformation of rural communities through the creation of digital, ecological villages. His objective is to provide rural communities with the digital infrastructure they need to accelerate their educational attainment while also protecting the environment.
To these ends, Edmilson and his team have organised the transportation of 20 forty-foot long containers with the help of international donors. They have successfully installed the first medical centre in the village, providing regular checks and ambulances for local communities and increasing the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in the area. Change 1’s Life also installed a solar-powered mobile food bank and a handwashing station during the pandemic. The mobile food bank allowed for a degree of sociability but the project was also predicated upon encouraging street cleanliness and recycling by users. Construction is underway on other aspects of the village, with the first playground for local children having recently been built.
"I feel like a representative of the One Young World Community. I think the Summit really broadened my horizons, in terms of how much I can do and how much I can have access to if I continue to do it the right way."