YouthBuild will engage 30 extremely vulnerable youth ages 11-18 years from Kibera, Kenya in a two-week, residential life skills & arts education camp in December 2015. School drop out, unemployment and violence in the community greatly endanger youth in Kibera and keep them trapped in poverty. YouthBuild will equip the most vulnerable youth with essential information and skills and plant a seed in them that they have the capacity to dictate their own future.
Youth in Kibera face difficult conditions that limit their ability to lead safe and healthy lives: high rates of poverty and orphanhood, HIV prevalence estimated at 17% (compared to 4% prevalence in Kenya), and soaring rates of violence against children, including alarming rates of sexual violence. With little information availed in schools and topics of HIV and reproductive health still being taboo, youth often lack the knowledge and skills to make healthy and informed life decisions.
YouthBuild will fill the gap in information; engaging youth in an array of topics that reflect the most pressing issues for young people in Kibera in a fun and interactive way outside of Kibera. Topics will include finance/asset management, communication skills, STI/HIV prevention, alcohol/substance abuse prevention, child protection and gender-based violence. Interactive sessions that involve drama, games and art activities will help youth to actually practice new skills in a safe setting.
This project will result in improved awareness and skills among youth around critical life topics that will help them better communicate, make healthy life decisions and become productive citizens in the community. Discussions around career and higher education opportunities, goal setting actvities and opportunities to share opinions and ask questions will help build confidence that youth in Kibera are not trapped in poverty and will ultimately give youth options and hope for their future.
