The youth to youth project launching

Skills training and entreprise development program under P.C.E.A Eastleigh Community Centre, on the 3rd June 2011, launched the youth to youth project to promote marketable skills for sustainable employment within informal settlements of Nairobi. "Dubbed Ujuzi wako ajira yako" -Kazi mara that that!

Youth preparing for a walk through the slum to sensitize the community about the youth to youth project which was aimed at promoting marketable skills for sustainable employment within informal settlements of Nairobi.

 The event was conducted in Korogocho inside the Korogocho Community Hall and atrracted visitors such as the Korogocho area Chief, Koch FM, Mr. Peter Wainana from cobtrat and finally but not least the Umoja youth group. The event also attracted many women and youths from the korogocho slum who were very eager to hear what the project could offer and how they could benefit in the end.

 

This was the climax of the event as the Korogocho Area Chief, youth, men and women took it to the street to sensitize the community about the project. 

Mr. Peter Wainaina from cobtrad through Eastleigh Community Centre, conducted a reaserch in Korogocho, Huruma and Kariobangi and found out that an overwhelming number of youths from the target area face a daunting array of social-economic problems the major among them being unemployment and underemployment.

Key to this, exclusion and marginalization is the collapse of social support institutions for young people as a result of the combined adverse effect of economic restructuring unemployment and under employment, poverty, and HIV/AIDS.

Therefore, he came up with a conclution that involvement in short term survival strategies will play a big role in alienating the youth in informal settlements in relation to detachment from educational and labour market areas where state and institutionally sanctioned social and political capital may be accumulated and where human capital development may occur to facilitate productive transition into adulthood.
This brings the need for the government and the civil society to harness youth potential and transform it to dynamic force for social economic development. This creation of value however, poses a huge challenge to both the state and the civil society organizations, and we suggest that it could be done in the following ways.

1. Facillitate youths to start bussiness.
2. Promote a saving culture among the youths.
3. Create awareness on funding opportunities.
4. Advocacy around utilization of government devolved funds.
5. Collaboration among development agents.
6. Upscaling of non formal training.
7. Behaviour change programming efforts.
8. Stigma reduction programming.
9. Adolencent sexual behaviour.
10. Engaging the youth in decision making.
11. Strengthen social welfare schemes.
12. Need for gender sensitivity in policy making and programming.
13. Need for civic education.
14. Capacity building for the ministry of education and other providers of education and training.

Entertainment was also part of the event as entertainment groups such as the Kengele traditional dancers and salsa maniac taking on stage.