£68,000 Raised to Support Young Leaders
We are absolutely blown away by the generosity shown throughout the Youth Sparks Appeal campaign that took place from 2nd to 9th December 2025, as part of the Big Give Christmas Challenge. Thank you to everyone who donated, shared and championed the appeal. Because of your incredible support and thanks to match funding, Gift Aid and donations across the UK and USA, we smashed the target £45,000 and raised an amazing £68,000.
The funds raised will support our youth livelihoods programmes in Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia where we are able to expand our support to young people to start local businesses.
This vital funding means that we can scale up our provision of support, training, seed funding and setting young leaders up with giving circles, improving their credit rating and setting them up for success. It costs us an average of £1,000 a year to support a young person to set up their business – and they in turn reach another 40 young people.
The youth-led businesses vary widely – from tailoring and selling produce to running local transport or airtime businesses. Many of our young leaders are also innovating in response to climate challenges. One inspiring young entrepreneur even created solar-powered backpacks to help students study at night.
Thanks to the generous supporters of the campaign we are able to further support young leaders who in turn are able to provide for their families and build their futures, as well as strengthening their communities.
Thank you to those who supported the campaign for your belief in young leaders!
Check out Gertrude Mwanza’s story
Read more about the impact of Restless Development’s Livelihoods Work
