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Press Release
Nairobi, 12 Nov. 2025 —Creative Visions has chosen Narrative 4 to receive a grant to support the expansion of youth empowerment initiatives as part of the Students Rebuild Unique & United project. This funding will deepen Narrative 4’s work using storytelling and mentorship to guide Kenyan youth to identify local challenges and propose effective solutions.
Students Rebuild’s Unique & United initiative invites young people worldwide to explore identity, celebrate differences, and take creative action for a more united world. Each act of creativity or student engaged sparks a $5 donation from Creative Visions—with support from the Bezos Family Foundation—for organizations like Narrative 4 that foster connection and champion collaborative change. Through June 1, 2026, students, youth leaders, parents, and educators can sign up at www.studentsrebuild.org to access free resources, lesson plans, and creative toolkits, and submit original works in any medium.
“Unique & United helps young people explore the shared humanity between individuals, cultures, and communities and discover how understanding different perspectives can positively impact the world,” says Pat Chandler, CEO of Creative Visions. “We’re proud to support Narrative 4’s youth-focused efforts that foster connection and build bridges across differences.”
Narrative 4 equips young people with tools to harness the power of stories to drive change in their communities. Through the grant from Creative Visions, Narrative 4 will integrate the Students Rebuild’s Unique & United project within its Cities School Challenge, reaching 40 schools in Nairobi and Mombasa. The programme aims to enhance students’ leadership skills through storytelling and mentorship, enabling them to become creative changemakers who can identify local challenges and propose effective solutions. By seamlessly integrating with the Students Rebuild framework, Narrative 4 will work with young people to explore their identities, celebrate their differences, and use creative expression to share their vision of a more united world.
“Students have the power to change the world when their voices are heard and their stories are shared,” says Buchi Onyegbule, Narrative 4’s Director of Africa Operations. “Through this partnership with Creative Visions and Students Rebuild, we are empowering young people in Kenya to use storytelling to understand one another, celebrate their identities, and create innovative solutions to challenges in their communities. Together, we’re nurturing a generation of creative changemakers who are shaping a more united and compassionate world.”
Narrative 4 joins 10 other global organizations, including Choose Love, Green Horizons, Kids for Peace, Homeboy Industries, CARE, Open Roads, Ripples of Hope, Search for Common Ground, TREEAMS, and Welcoming America, to receive grants through the Unique & United Project. Youth participants will also have the opportunity at the end of the school year to vote and decide which of these organizations will receive an additional $50,000 to further their peace work.
About Narrative 4
Narrative 4 equips young people to harness the power of stories to drive change in their communities. Narrative 4’s programmes replace loneliness and isolation with connection, community and action. Founded by artists, educators and students, the organization is established in 12 countries across Africa, Europe and North America, with over a million stories shared to date.
To learn more, visit: www.narrative4.com.
About Students Rebuild
Students Rebuild is a Creative Visions program. Created in January 2010 by the Bezos Family Foundation in response to the devastating Haiti earthquake, Students Rebuild has mobilized more than 1.3 million participants in 102 countries and all 50 states and raised more than $16.6 million in matching funds. Annual Project funds have worked towards rebuilding schools in Haiti, bringing awareness to humanitarian crises in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, helping Syrian youth from conflict areas recover from crisis, and supporting empowerment opportunities for youth affected by hunger and food insecurity. Find more at www.studentsrebuild.org and @StudentsRebuild.
About Creative Visions
Creative Visions empowers artists, filmmakers, musicians, and other impact media makers to raise awareness of critical issues and drive positive change through storytelling – one of our most powerful tools for creating a more just, caring, and sustainable world. The nonprofit organization and United Nations NGO, was founded in memory of 22-year-old artist and photojournalist Dan Eldon, who died in 1993 while covering the conflict in Somalia for Reuters New Agency.Creative Visions’ Impact Education programs support youth, educators, and changemakers to understand how to use media, arts, and technology to take creative action about the things they care about. For more information: www.creativevisions.org.
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