October 15, 2025 Category: Our Impact Partnerships

Collaboration Across Continents: The Fresh Air Fund and The Mandela Washington Fellowship Program

The Fresh Air Fund’s Community Outreach, Partnerships & Support Services (COSS) team was proud to collaborate with Undinel Gérard Ayekoeet through the Mandela Washington Fellowship program. He collaborated with COSS to share ideas, engage with communities and expand awareness about The Fresh Air Fund’s sleepaway camps and school year programs.  

Undinel Gérard is the co-founder and general manager of Be Ambitious for Your Continent (BAFYC), an organization with the core belief that education is a fundamental right. Be Ambitious for Your Continent was started in response to the reality that many children in Africa lack proper conditions for learning. The organization has been working since 2016 to empower young people to succeed. 

We recently met with Undinel Gérard to learn more about his work and collaboration with The Fresh Air Fund. 

Gérard poses with Fresh Air Fund's Community Outreach, Partnerships & Support Services team.
Undinel Gérard with Fresh Air Fund staff at a community outreach event. (Cesar Rodriguez/The Fresh Air Fund)

Can you share your background and how you got involved in youth development work?  

My name is Undinel Gérard Ayekoeett. I’m from Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa. I have a background in public law and I’m currently working as the general manager and founder of a non-profit organization based in Cote d’Ivoire called Be Ambitious for Your Continent, created in 2016. Living in West Africa, in a Francophone country, we don’t really have a culture of sleepaway camps. When I was a child, I loved going outdoors to play soccer and it’s still a memory that sticks out. It’s easy to understand why it’s important to provide youth with opportunities to explore new things.  

Several children hold up signs in front of a mobile educational initiative.
BAFYC’S first mobile educational initiative, The Caravan of Excellence and Motivation. (BAFYC) 

How did you connect with The Fresh Air Fund? 

This connection happened thanks to the Mandela Washington Fellowship. I was selected for this prestigious program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, to participate in a professional development experience at The Fresh Air Fund.  Alongside Community Outreach, Partnerships & Support Services, I’ve been engaging with several communities in New York City,  to help promote The Fresh Air Fund’s summer and school year programming. We’ve also been working with African associations and organizations based in New York, that are youth-focused.

Can you share more about Be Ambitious for Your Continent? What is the mission of the organization? 

I founded Be Ambitious for Your Continent in 2016. It’s an organization that is dedicated to children’s education, youth leadership, financial inclusion and environmental protection. We provide children and schools with school supplies, library access, and computers so that we can get students exposed to things like computer science at a young age. We also sponsor young girls here in West Africa and support their education. Every year, we sponsor girls from different backgrounds and underserved areas to either return to school or go to school for the first time in their life. 

Children in the classroom.
BAFYC helped donate school kits to support children and their families at the start of this new school year. (BAFYC) 

What types of positive outcomes have you seen from children participating in The Fresh Air Fund and other summer programs?  

My first day at The Fresh Air Fund was spent at Camp Tommy and I had the opportunity to talk to several campers. One camper shared with me that when he first came to camp, he was very shy, but when we were speaking with him, it was clear he was very comfortable talking with people and engaging. That’s a living example of how transformative summer sleepaway camp is for children and how much it can do for them. Another camper told me that The Fresh Air Fund was his most valuable experience so far in his life because he was able to learn several things while playing and having fun. 

Why do you think it is important for youth to have access to programs like The Fresh Air Fund? 

It’s important for youth to have access to programs like The Fresh Air Fund because in addition to education, children need an opportunity to explore new things outside of school and express themselves during the summer break. They also need to be able to rest their minds and spend time outside in nature.  It’s also important because The Fresh Air Fund provides support throughout the year through leadership programs, tutoring and more. The Fresh Air Fund is really offering youth the opportunity to make connections, make friends, learn a lot about leadership, about different sports and even about how to write resumes. They get a chance to experience a lot that is important to their growth and for the community.  

Gérard at summer camp with Fresh Air Fund staff.
Undinel Gérard with other Fresh Air Fund staff and volunteers at Camp Tommy. (The Fresh Air Fund/Jack Hyland)

What is your favorite memory from working with The Fresh Air Fund? 

It was all great, so this is a tough question to answer. My favorite memory this summer probably happened during my time at Camp Tommy.  It was amazing because the camp was nothing like I originally pictured. And when I got there, I was very impressed by the work of the counselors, the campers and the entire Fresh Air team. I also loved working alongside my COSS colleagues on programming and outreach projects.  I am really excited to bring what I learned here to my organization in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa where we have a lot of nature, a lot of kids and a need for programs like The Fresh Air Fund.