Together, Nafissatou and Kevin Esaie will lead a Youth Innovation Project to combat stigma and discrimination against youth with intellectual disabilities. Nafissatou and Kevin Esaie hope to use educational tools to strengthen awareness, community engagement, and inclusion of youth with Intellectual Disabilities in Burkina Faso.

Nafissatou and Kevin Esaie have identified three sites in their home city of Ouagadougou where they will implement their project over the course of three months. These establishments will serve as training and recruitment sites for 180 new Youth Leaders who will be trained on the Special Olympics “Guide for Sibling Youth Engagement.” Nafissatou and Kevin Esaie hope this grassroots efforts will serve as the first step to sustainably improve social inclusion and strengthen solidarity across individuals with and without Intellectual Disability in their community. Together, Nafissatou and Kevin Esaie and the new Youth Leaders will take their knowledge to three secondary schools to conduct trainings to reduce stigma, increase advocacy, and raise awareness about Special Olympics activities.