Seven years after its humble launch as a small community idea, Antigua and Barbuda’s grassroots youth organization Youth Arise Antigua (YAA) is celebrating its seventh anniversary of transformative work in youth development, volunteerism, and local public service. Founded in 2019, the group has evolved far beyond its initial concept to build a thriving, engaged network of young people dedicated to lifting up communities across the twin-island nation.
Over the past seven years, YAA’s members and volunteers have rolled out dozens of impact-driven initiatives that address pressing local needs. Teams have supported under-resourced primary and secondary schools across the country, distributed thousands of critical school supplies and personal hygiene items to vulnerable students, led large-scale community clean-up campaigns to improve public spaces, planted hundreds of native trees to support local ecosystems, prepared and served warm meals to food-insecure residents, and partnered with existing local groups to amplify a wide range of community-led projects.
In a heartfelt anniversary address marking the milestone, YAA Founder and President Makiba Ward reflected on the organization’s extraordinary growth and core mission. “Seven years ago, Youth Arise Antigua began with a simple but powerful belief: young people can make a meaningful difference in the lives of others and in their communities,” Ward said. “Today, as we celebrate seven years, I am filled with gratitude and pride. What started as one idea has grown into a community of young people committed to service, giving their time, talents and energy to create tangible change.”
Ward emphasized that even small, consistent acts of service leave lasting, positive marks on local communities, pointing to YAA’s seven years of on-the-ground work as proof of that principle. “Each experience has reminded us that even the smallest act of service can have a lasting impact,” she noted. The YAA president added that the organization’s success is not the work of a single leader, but of the entire network of members, volunteers, and community supporters who have sustained its mission over the years. “As Founder and President, I am especially proud of every member, volunteer and supporter who has contributed to our journey. Youth Arise Antigua is not about one person. It is about all of us working together to serve and create positive change.”
Looking ahead to the organization’s eighth year of operations in 2027, Ward called on the YAA community to continue turning their vision of service into tangible action. “As we enter our eighth year in 2027, let us continue to show up, lend a helping hand and turn ideas into action,” she said. “To everyone who has supported Youth Arise Antigua over the past seven years, thank you for believing in our vision and for being part of the journey.”
YAA remains guided by its founding motto: “To make a difference in someone’s life.” In closing her address, Ward toasted the organization’s seven years of impact, and expressed optimism for the years to come. “Here’s to seven years of service, seven years of impact, and many more years of making a difference. Happy 7th Anniversary, Youth Arise Antigua!”
As a community-focused youth organization, YAA centers its work around four core pillars: youth empowerment, accessible education and development, volunteer community service, and cultivating leadership and excellence among young Antiguans and Barbudans. Its full guiding mission is summed up in the phrase: “Together We Rise, Together We Strive, To Make a Difference in Someone’s Life.”