The Executive Director of the Global Youth Innovation Center (GYIC), a Sunyani-based NGO, Eric Anorrey, has been named as the Most Outstanding Sora Kaufman Fellow 2025. His recognition is not merely a personal accolade but a resounding endorsement of a vision that centers communities as architects of their own development.
The Sora Kaufman Fellowship remains a flagship program of an Accra-based NGO, Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA) and aims at establishing a network of African leaders and practitioners in the field of community-driven development and advocacy.
This exchange program targets practitioners who collaborate with relevant stakeholders to tackle community and systemic challenges that hinder the accessibility and involvement of citizens in decision-making.
$10,000 grant
For emerging as the Most Outstanding Sora Kaufman Fellow 2025, Mr. Anorrey will be receiving a $10,000 grant from the Fellowship to embark on a community-driven initiative designed to improve the economic wellbeing of 20 vulnerable women in the Sunyani Municipality, including teenage mothers and unemployed women below 45 years in the informal sector in Sunyani Zongo.
Ultimately, this project aims to improve the socioeconomic status of these 20 women in the informal sector by providing them with guidance and mentorship as they pursue various economic ventures of their choices to achieve sustainable livelihoods and financial independence.
Success indicators
Mr. Anorrey hopes to ensure that the economic wellbeing of some 20 unemployed teenage mothers and single mothers under 45 years in Sunyani Zongo are improved and are financially independent through this intervention by July 2026 while the self-confidence and decision-making ability of 20 unemployed women are expected to improve and are capable of effectively managing the affairs of their choosing economic ventures for increased capital.
The project further hopes to develop a strategic partnership between the 20 unemployed women and the Sunyani Municipal Assembly to ensure that the assembly incorporates marginalized women’s needs into its medium to long-term plans by July 2026.
GYIC
Mr. Anorrey is the Executive Director of the Global Youth Innovation Center (GYIC) LBG, which was founded in May 2019. GYIC is legally registered in Ghana as a non-profit organization. The organisation envisages a world free of discrimination and inequalities in which all people are treated fairly and not discriminated against because of their race, gender, mental or physical disability.
His journey is a testament to the transformative power of opportunity, learning, and service. When he joined the Sora Kaufman Fellowship, he sought not just knowledge, but clarity of purpose. What he gained was more than just academic insight—it was a profound realization: development is not done for people, it is done with them, through them, and by them.
This principle became the compass that guided him to conceive and lead the Livelihood Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE Project)—a bold, grassroots-driven program aimed at lifting some of the most vulnerable women in the Sunyani Zongo community out of the cycle of poverty.
The Sora Kaufman Fellowship, known for cultivating community-centered leadership, equipped Eric with critical tools in community-driven development, social inclusion, sustainable strategies, and transformational leadership. These weren’t just theories on paper, they were sparks that ignited a vision.
Gratitude
Mr. Anorrey’s selection as the Most Outstanding Fellow is not just a mark of distinction, it reflects how he has embodied the values of the Fellowship. His gratitude message captured it best: “Being named the Most Outstanding Fellow is both humbling and inspiring. I see it as a responsibility to do more, give more, and lead with integrity and empathy”, he said.
Eric’s journey—from Fellowship to field implementation—is a reminder that gratitude is not passive. For him, it’s a call to deepen impact:
“My selection is a celebration of the collective effort of everyone who believes in grassroots-led change. Together, we are shaping a future where communities are not just beneficiaries, but architects of their own development.”
He extends heartfelt thanks to the Sora Kaufman Fellowship team, his mentors, and fellow cohort members, whose support helped make his vision real.
Story by Richard Kofi Boahen
