It started in a U.S. high school cafeteria.
Our story.
The African Education Program (AEP) was born in 2002 in the cafeteria of Radnor High School in Pennsylvania. Four sophomores decided they wanted to do a service project for students living in communities that were under-resourced and affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zambia.
Founders Hillary Bridges, Sarah Hayes, Christian Mark and Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza sought the advice of their native-Zambian soccer coach at the time, Dave Chalikulima, and connected with his brother, Amos, a community leader in Kafue.
Within two years, AEP was registered as an official 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The founders started their work by collecting, sorting, and shipping a container of books, computers, school supplies and clothes to Kafue.
In July 2005, just after high school graduation, the founders travelled to Kafue, Zambia. Hosted by Amos, they met other community leaders and, most importantly, their peers. These young people explained that their community lacked an educational, creative and safe space to go before and after school.
In August 2006, members of AEP traveled again to Kafue, Zambia. With community leaders and youth members, the flagship Learning & Leadership Center was opened. In the year that had passed, their host, Amos, had sadly passed away. So the center was named in his memory, Amos Youth Centre. In 2008, it was officially registered with the Zambian Ministry of Community Development and Social Services.
Founders Hillary Bridges, Sarah Hayes, and Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza sit with their peers and children in Kafue, Zambia in July, 2005.
In 2023, Co-Founder & Executive Director Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza was inducted into the Radnor High School Hall of Fame for her humanitarian efforts with the African Education Program.
The “Elephont” original logo, a piece of our history.
Our iconic “Elefont” served the African Education Program incredibly well for over 15 years. She was designed by volunteer Keith Webb in the early years of the organization. While being loved by all at the African Education Program, in 2022, it was time to give her an update for several reasons.
First, “Elefont” was designed before the social media boom which made a circular photo a must for profiles. Her off-center nature made it hard to create a circular version. Secondly, the complexity of her design made it hard to print on certain mediums. Finally, the African Education Program’s work has evolved greatly in the past few years and it is time to have a logo that represents our growth and evolution.
The original “elefont” was fun, joyous, and child-like, representing our start-up and growth. Today, her new version is more mature and mother-like, representing our current work as mentors and capacity-builders with growing reach.
We believe the boldness and solidity of the new logo represents how much we as an organization have grown in our belief in ourselves and our clear vision for the future. And by being built of shapes, the new logo pays homage to her original lettered version, while being much simpler, stronger, and confident.