By Omolola Precious
Change Agent Cohort 6, YMCA Nigeria
This is the second in a series of articles from Precious sharing the experience of being a World YMCA Change Agent and the knowledge and perspective learned along the way; read the first article here.
Our very first assignment in the YMCA Change Agents programme was deeply reflective for me.
We were asked a simple but demanding question: What kind of YMCA do you envision?
Followed by: Where do you see your YMCA in the next few years, working within Vision 2030 – our global strategy?
For those who may not know, YMCA Vision 2030 is the framework guiding YMCAs worldwide. It is built on four Pillars of impact:
- Community Wellbeing
- Meaningful Work
- Sustainable Planet
- Just World
The expectation is clear: by 2030, every YMCA should have meaningfully contributed to building a better world across these four areas.
I found myself thinking deeply about my local YMCA – Metropolitan YMCA Oluyole-Ibadan and the Nigeria YMCA as a whole.
- Where are we now?
- Where do we want to be in the next few years?
- And most importantly, what is my role in closing that gap?
Charting our course
I won’t pretend that my essay magically solved all the challenges we may be facing, or that the ideas I wrote will automatically become reality in two years. This article isn’t about institutional shortcomings or prediction either.
What that assignment did, however, was to remind me that having a clear vision whether as an individual or an organization does not guarantee a seamless journey.
But vision gives direction.
It shapes decisions.
It helps you choose what to focus on and what to let go of.
And for me, that clarity is already a form of progress. I’m learning that being a Change Agent is not just about imagining better systems; it’s also about aligning your actions today with the future you say you want to see.
YMCA Vision 2030 has been quietly reshaping how I think about impact, leadership and responsibility. It’s pushing me to move away from asking “What activities can we run?” and toward harder questions like:
- Who is left out of the conversation?
- Are we just having programs or building systems?
- Will this still matter years from now?
Vision 2030 is asking us to do things differently. There’s something noteworthy while studying the Vision 2030 slides, it all starts with US – the immediate YMCA community –staff, volunteers, the community where your Y is located, till we impact the world!
As a leader, I am starting to think of myself not as someone waiting for perfect conditions, but as someone learning to contribute meaningfully, even within constraints.
I’m beginning to see leadership less as position, and more as alignment– aligning values, actions, and long-term impact
This journey is stretching me, and I’m paying attention to what it’s teaching me.
Next up: I will share how I figured out what drives me, internally, to make an impact through the Change Agent programme.