The beginning of a new year always carries a certain weight. It is a moment of reflection, renewal, and expectation especially for the children, adolescents, students, and young people who look to organizations like SAYWHAT not just for programmes, but for consistency, presence, and reassurance. As 2026 unfolds, we want our communities, partners, and stakeholders across Southern Africa to know this clearly: SAYWHAT is present, active, and firmly committed to the work we exist to do.

January marked the first visible steps of that commitment. As institutions across the region welcomed new intakes, SAYWHAT returned to one of the most important moments in a young person’s academic journey – orientation. At the University of Zambia (UNZA), our teams engaged first‑year students with life skills and sexual and reproductive health information designed to meet them exactly where they are: at a point of transition, independence, curiosity, and vulnerability.

This engagement was not an isolated activity, nor was it simply about delivering information. It reflected the way SAYWHAT approaches young people’s wellbeing – early, honestly, and with the understanding that the choices made in the first days of a new environment often shape what follows. Orientation spaces allow us to speak to realities that are rarely addressed openly, yet deeply affect learning, safety, and health. They are spaces where prevention becomes practical, and where empowerment begins with access to the right information at the right time.

While the UNZA orientation provides a snapshot of this work in action, it represents a broader approach that continues across Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Throughout the year, SAYWHAT remains engaged with student communities beyond orientation weeks, supporting young people as they navigate campus life, social pressures, health decisions, and the responsibilities that come with independence. Our work is ongoing because young people’s needs do not end after the first week of classes.

This week, we also we commemorated the International Day of Education, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring that young people not only access education but also thrive within it. Our participation in international observances is deliberate; each commemoration provides a platform to highlight the education and health advocacy issues shaping young people’s experiences in the region. These moments of recognition strengthen our year‑round efforts to promote quality learning, informed decision‑making, and supportive campus ecosystems for all young people.

As the year progresses, SAYWHAT is also strengthening the structures that ensure young people remain at the center of our work. In Zimbabwe, our National Coordinating Committee, sworn in at the 2025 Annual General Meeting will soon be inducted and equipped with leadership skills to effectively carry out their mandate in 2026. This process reflects our belief that young people are not only participants in programmes, but leaders and custodians of the movement itself.

Regionally, preparations are well underway for the Southern African Regional Students and Youth Conference (SARSYC), a biennial platform that brings together young people, decisionmakers, and development practitioners from across Southern Africa to deliberate and co-create sustainable solutions on priority health and education issues affecting young people. In 2026, all roads lead to Namibia. SARSYC continues to stand as a reflection of SAYWHAT’s regional growth and its commitment to creating spaces where young people can shape conversations on health, education, and development beyond national borders. More information about this convening can be found at www.sarsyc.org.

Alongside programming and convening, SAYWHAT continues to advance advocacy issues that directly affect young people’s lives including digital health having been formally introduced as a priority area at the 2025 National Students Conference. Our digital health advocacy efforts ensure that the voices and experiences of children, adolescents, students, and youth inform policies, systems, and services meant to serve them.

Additionally, child protection remains a critical part of this commitment. In Zimbabwe, SAYWHAT’s Child Protection Call Centre with the toll-free 577 continues to operate 24 hours a day, providing a consistent lifeline for children and young people who need support, guidance, or protection. This work continues quietly but steadily, reinforcing the principle that safety and wellbeing are not seasonal, they are essential.

As we move forward into 2026, SAYWHAT does so with renewed focus and a deep sense of responsibility to the communities we serve. This year is not about grand declarations, but about presence, continuity, and action! Showing up where young people are, responding to their realities, and walking alongside them as they learn, grow, and lead.

We invite our partners, institutions, supporters, and young people themselves to continue this journey with us. Together, we can ensure that the year ahead is one where young people across Southern Africa are supported, protected, and empowered, not just in words, but in practice.