University of Alberta Faculty of Nursing alumna Saige Godberson, 23, was celebrated in the gender inequality edition of Alberta Council for Global Cooperation 2019 Top 30 Under 30 Magazine for her work training and supporting nurses through Youthnited Nations, a not-for-profit she helped to co-found.
"When action-oriented individuals come together, change will happen. I believe it is incredibly important to foster youth leaders and emphasize the importance of gaining meaningful leadership experience, to ultimately create strong and empowered citizens of change," said Godberson.
In 2017, Godberson was diagnosed with cancer, a prognosis that heavily influenced her outlook on healthcare and sparked her passion for global healthcare access. The diagnosis pushed her to accelerate her studies, presenting her honors research at the International Council of Nursing Congress in Barcelona, Spain with her colleague, Marnie Colbourne. Both Godberson and Colbourne noticed that their 18- to 33-year-old age demographic was significantly underrepresented at the Congress, and this led them to form Youthnited Nations, a non-profit organization that creates opportunity for youth centred on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In less than a year, Youthnited Nations has already garnered youth members from across the globe. Goderberson says she is inspired by how many youth worldwide are just as passionate and driven to make global change.
"Currently, our main project is within a remote community in Uganda, primarily composed of widows and children. With a goal to create sustainable change and community capacity, we have educated and trained several nurses, and are now fundraising to build a stationary health clinic," said Godberson. "We have established a project focused on the development of healthcare resources, accessibility, and clinic construction in a remote community. I believe empowering women and children of the community by creating employment opportunity and continued education is essential in generating sustainability and global gender equality."
In just eight short months, Youthnited Nations already has over 50 members internationally, and has hosted a number of campaigns, events, and activities working towards a better global future. Their current fundraising goal for the healthcare clinic in Uganda is $40,000, which will sustain, stock, and staff the clinic for the next five years. Once their goal is met, a group of nurses and youth from the organization will head to Uganda to launch the clinic in partnership with the community and nurses they've helped to train.
"It is incredibly exciting to see how many of our members are nurses, and more specifically University of Alberta alumni. I am very excited to see what the future holds for us as an organization and for the communities we work with-I know it is bright!" exclaimed Godberson.
Would you like to learn more about engaging and empowering youth in achieving the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals? Visit https://www.youthnitednations.com/to join the movement and/or stay up-to-date.