“When I completed my secondary school education, I decided to take a year off before attending college in order to pursue my dream of creating a youth-led programme that would inform, educate and empower youth to change the world. Many people said it was impossible for a twenty-year-old with little-to-no funding to create a non-profit organisation and get it up and running. They were wrong; the existence of Young People We Care and its achievements are a testament to this. For example, thanks to the support of our volunteer staff and the mentoring provided for young people we have able to undertake numerous community action projects.” – Michael Boampong
In 2005, Michael Boampong established Young People We Care (YPWC). YPWC is a youth led and youth focused organisation that is headquartered in Ghana. The mission of YPWC is: to educate and inform youth on global issues; inspire them to take action; encourage youth participation in global issues; identify and build sustainable partnerships aimed at youth development; and provide young people with the tools and resources required for effective action.
YPWC, under Michael’s leadership has been honored with various awards including the 2009 United Nations Online Volunteering (UNOV) Award by the United Nations Volunteer programme for a coordinated online initiative that enhanced youth representation at the 2009 Global Forum on Migration and Development. Similarly in 2010, the UNOV award was awarded to an initiative (www.opportunitiesforyouth.org ) that Michael created with the support of YPWC’s virtual volunteers. Initially intended to address the issue of illegal youth migration in Ghana and other African countries by providing information about opportunities for legal migration, the website – www.opportunitiesforyouth.org has expanded its scope to opportunities for scholarships, training, jobs and engagement for youth worldwide.

From 2005 to 2010 Michael had the overall responsibility for the successful management of organizational activities including strategic planning, team leadership (for staff and volunteers) project management, partnership development, fundraising, board relations, advisor engagement etc.

Michael led and enhanced partnership with relevant stakeholders such as UN Millennium Campaign, Peace Child International, UNICEF Rural Voices of Youth, Global Youth Action Network, TakingITGlobal, UNICEF Voices of Youth, Youth Service America, and Migrant Rights International under his leadership as the Executive Director of YPWC.