On a quiet Saturday morning in Bahir Dar, young people gathered with a shared sense of anticipation. For many of them, opportunities often feel distant, limited by access, resources, or safe spaces to grow. But on 6 December 2025, something changed.
That day, Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia officially handed over a newly built Youth Personality Development Centre to the city. This marked the beginning of a space designed for young people to learn, connect, and imagine a better future for themselves.
Built at a cost of over ETB 15 million, the Belay Zeleke Youth Personality Development Centre brings together what many young people in the city have long needed, under one roof. Inside, a modern digital lab offers access to e-learning platforms, opening doors to digital skills, innovation, and employment opportunities. A youth-friendly room provides sexual and reproductive health services in a safe and respectful environment. The centre also includes a library, a meeting hall, and flexible spaces where young people can study, work, and collaborate. Fully furnished and connected to the internet, it is designed to support learning, productivity, and creativity.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Goshu Endalamaw, Mayor of Bahir Dar City, reflected on what the centre represents. When civil society and the private sector step in to address youth challenges, he noted, they help shape a stronger generation. He emphasised that the centre responds directly to the needs of young people in surrounding communities and has the potential to influence positive behavior, identity, and purpose if managed well and used fully.
For Amref, the new centre is not a standalone project. It is part of a longer journey in the Amhara region, built on years of working alongside young people to support their health, education, and livelihoods. Dessie Kassa, Amref’s Regional Manager, described the centre as a place where young people can use their time productively, learning new skills, building confidence, and connecting their ambitions to real opportunities. It is, he said, a hub where ideas meet action.
That journey has not been without challenges. Wasihun Andualem, Amref’s Youth Development Programme Lead, acknowledged that funding constraints have tested many youth initiatives over the years. Still, Amref has remained committed to sustaining programmes such as digital inclusion initiatives and youth-led Saving and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs), which help young people access financial services and build economic independence. The Bahir Dar centre, he explained, is a tangible expression of that long-term commitment, proof that investing in youth is not a one-off effort, but a sustained promise.
The centre itself is also a product of partnership and solidarity beyond Ethiopia’s borders. Through Amref Health Africa in the United States, individual donors contributed critical financial support. Among them was Julie Mihretu, an Ethiopian-born American entrepreneur and philanthropist whose contribution played a key role in turning the vision into reality. A long-time advocate for youth empowerment, her support reflects a belief that when young people are given the right tools and spaces, they can transform their own lives and their communities.
This belief is backed by results. Across its youth programmes, Amref has reached over 46,000 young people with life skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and employability training, nearly 12,000 of them linked to employment opportunities. More than 13,000 youth are now members of SACCOs, while 872,000 young people, almost three-quarters of them girls and young women, have accessed youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services. Thousands more have received mental health support, basic literacy and numeracy education, and services for survivors of gender-based violence.
The new Youth Personality Development Centre in Bahir Dar brings these efforts together in one physical space. It stands as both a symbol and a tool of trust in young people, of partnership across sectors, and of belief in what is possible when communities invest in their future. Here, young people will learn new skills, earn opportunities, and lead change, turning hope into action, one step at a time.