A Life Defined by
Purpose & Service

Early Life & Formation

Sheku Foryoh was shaped by the communities he grew up in - places where the energy of young people was abundant but the structures to channel it were scarce. This gap between potential and opportunity became the animating force of his public life. From early voluntary work in local youth programmes to national leadership, his trajectory has always been guided by a belief that Sierra Leone’s future is inseparable from the development of its youth.

YACAP - An Institution Built from Conviction

In 2013, Sheku founded the Youth and Child Advocacy Platform (YACAP) - an organisation that would become one of Sierra Leone’s most recognised youth-led civil society bodies. YACAP was built not as a project, but as an institution: with governance structures, community chapters, and a long-term mandate to advocate for youth rights and child welfare at local, national, and international levels.

Under his leadership, YACAP has mobilised thousands of youth ambassadors, engaged with government ministries, and partnered with international organisations including UNICEF and Restless Development to advance child protection and youth participation agendas across the country.

Governance & National Service

Sheku’s engagement with national governance has been both formal and substantive. Through his work with the National Youth Council of Sierra Leone, he contributed to policy processes that sought to raise the minimum threshold of youth representation in civic and governmental structures. He understands governance not as an end in itself, but as the architecture through which communities are protected and empowered.

Digital Engagement & Media

Recognising the transformative potential of technology, Sheku led the expansion of U-Report Sierra Leone - a UNICEF-supported mobile platform that enables young people to participate in real-time polling on national issues, access information, and report violations. Simultaneously, his work in radio and television brought development communication into living rooms and community gathering spaces, using storytelling as a bridge between institutions and the people they serve.

Civic Unity & International Development

Through co-founding United 4 Salone, Sheku demonstrated a commitment to national unity that transcends partisan divides. His board-level engagement with Restless Development further placed Sierra Leone’s youth agenda within a global context - contributing to an organisation that operates across multiple continents through peer-led models of development.