Help Launch YIS in Kakuma Refugee Camp/Kenya Africa

Help empower our Kenya youth to become lifelong innovators!

Hello, my name is Greg Micek, I founded Young Inventors Association of American in 2002 to support the Young Investors Showcase that was started in 1988 by the Houston Inventors Association. Our Young Inventors Showcase (YIS) is now in its 37th year, and we need your help to bring this transformative program to the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya/Africa in partnership with Life Foundation Aid, a non-profit organization dedicated to create learning opportunities to improve society capacity building through High quality education, vocational skills, life skills and general training. They envision to live in a self-awareness of happiness for life long-learning and believes that being a refugee is not the end of life but rather a new beginning with overcrowded challenges , limited access to essential services and opportunities. Your support can make a world of difference to thousands of young, aspiring inventors who have the potential to change their lives and their communities.

Let's Bring YIS to Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya!

Kakuma Refugee Camp is home to over 200,000 refugees from different countries across Africa. Despite the challenges they face, the young people are brimming with creativity, resilience, and the desire to make a positive impact on their world. By bringing the YIS program to Kakuma, we aim to empower these youth with the tools and skills they need to turn their innovative ideas into reality.

Our YIS program will provide these young inventors with a platform to showcase their talents, learn new skills, and gain recognition for their creativity and give them a chance to dream, innovate, and build a better future for themselves and their communities.

Campaign Objective:

Our goal is to raise $100,000 to hire a full-time STEM coordinator and cover other essential program expenses. The coordinator will lead the YIS program in Kakuma, providing guidance, mentorship, and support to hundreds of young inventors. The funds will also be used to ensure that the program is sustainable, covering costs such as materials, logistics, and the organization of local competitions.

YOUNG INVENTORS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN HISTORY

Young Inventors Association of America (YIAA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2002 to provide opportunities and mentors that promotes the growth and success of young inventors around the world.

For over 30 years, the Young Inventors Showcase (YIS) has been held each year to find, celebrate, and support the inventions of our children.

The showcase was established with the intention to foster public and private partnerships that would ultimately fund the most commercially viable inventions.

Campaign Objective: The purpose of this campaign is to enable us to hire a full time STEM coordinator. We are jump starting a "re-start" of the YIS program here in the Houston Gulf Coast region.
History: Prior to the economic shutdown, YIS was in 30 schools, 3 school districts, and the University of Houston, which held a summer "Camp Invention" for inner city kids. Overall, we were serving over 3,000 aspiring young inventors, in grades 1st-8th, every year. The shutdown cratered our program.
HOUSTON: Our 2024-25 Preliminary and Finals Schedule:
Preliminary: Currently, we have two 2024, in the Spring of 2025 preliminary competitions: 1) Wilson Montessori, with 270 kids from diverse backgrounds in April, 2025. 2: Sablatura Middle School, in February, 2025. We will need judges for both events!
Finals: We will be having our YIS finals hosted by the ION Center on, Saturday, May 16th, 2025 . See: www.ionhouston.com.
Free Patent Application to the top finalists: We provide the top winners a free patent application.
Jimmy Fallon Show: We have also had the Jimmy Fallon Show feature our winners on a quarterly episode of young inventors.

Our YIS Program Guide has been adopted globally: Our 91 page program guide, which we developed to take our program virtual due to the shutdown,is now being adopted by the Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya, Africa.
Virtual "Phase Two" Incubator: We have built an online/virtual incubator at www.yiaa.org to provide each winning young inventor with a commercially viable invention a landing page to launch their invention as a start up venture, with licensing or manufacturing pathways.

Please consider hitting the donate button, even a $10.00 donation would be great to show support for our program and make a significant impact.

Let’s work together to bring the Young Inventors Showcase to Kakuma Refugee Camp and empower the next generation of innovators!

Help launch a YIAA Chapter in Kenya, Africa!

By Young Inventors Association of America

Help launch a YIAA Chapter in Kenya, Africa!

Help Launch YIS in Kakuma Refugee Camp/Kenya Africa

Team Members