Co-Design with Communities

Trains and supports girl researchers to conduct over 25,000 peer interviews across 8 countries in 25 languages using a mobile research platform that functions in low-connectivity areas and collects audio, video, and images to gather data from respondents of all literacy levels.

Uses the offline-capable Champions mobile app to equip facilitators in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Nigeria with session agendas, training materials, and multimedia resources to conduct community discussions on health, education, and economic empowerment. The app supports data collection, reporting, and pre- and post-session assessments in multiple local languages including Swahili, Amharic, Somali, and English.

Designs, creates, and evaluates initiatives that amplify youth voices, challenge gender norms, and create impact in health, education, and economic livelihoods through media, technology, and community engagement.

Operates a system that identifies sensitive disclosures from young people through digital platforms and connects them with emergency services and relevant support systems to ensure safety and access to care.

Conducted foundational research including the world’s first comprehensive study on adolescent girls’ mobile phone access and usage (“Real girls, real lives, connected”) with the Vodafone Foundation, and used peer-to-peer research methods with Oxfam and the Gates Foundation to generate insights about girls. Developed a Theory of Change centered on girls as active agents of transformation.

Mobilizes parents and caregivers in remote communities to ensure timely vaccination of children under two through community outreach and engagement efforts.

Operates AI chat companions in South Africa, Kenya, and India that answer young people's health questions and connect them to essential health services, having responded to over 35 million messages and questions. The platforms include voice hotlines, mobile apps, and media content tailored to adolescent girls and young women.

Provides essential health information and linkages to services covering immunization, mental health, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, and early childhood development for adolescent girls and young women, with a focus on expanding access to HPV vaccines through community engagement and partnerships with government entities.

Supports adolescent girls and young women to overcome barriers to education and expand their perceived life possibilities, while equipping them with skills to identify and apply for secure, dignified employment, pursue entrepreneurship, and connect with mentors.

Provides support and resources to young parents and caregivers to practice responsive caregiving for their children, enhancing early childhood development outcomes.

Provides an annual $1,000 scholarship to a graduating Black male high school student in New York City through the Real Dads Network Scholarship Committee.

Offers monthly in-person workshops through the Real Dads Generational Wealth Building Series to educate fathers on wealth preservation, accumulation, and financial empowerment.

Provides CPR and life-saving skills training to fathers at the Fatherhood Center to promote health and emergency preparedness.

Hosts quarterly in-person and virtual support groups for single fathers to share experiences, coping strategies, and information related to family court and parenting challenges.

Organizes an annual formal event that brings together fathers or father figures and their daughters for dancing, dinner, and bonding experiences to strengthen family relationships.

Organizes an annual week-long celebration to recognize and honor fathers and father figures as exemplary role models, originally launched in 2008 as Black Fathers Week.

Offers monthly workshops on physical fitness, nutrition, stress management, cancer prevention, blood pressure checks, and free amyloidosis and colorectal cancer screening, with targeted outreach to Black and Latino men in New York State.

Organizes monthly virtual and in-person book club discussions for fathers to encourage reading, learning, and conversations about fatherhood and personal development, held on the last Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM (EST).