Educate and Empower Street Children in Kenya

Many of the graduates of the Children and Youth Empowerment Centre start their own small businesses as employment is hard to find. They work in a variety of areas – retail (selling items such as electronics, clothing or food) or services (hairdressing, catering or driving school children). In October we offered an advanced workshop for some of the young people with more experience in business. While many have had businesses for several years, they appreciated the opportunity to learn more about financing, marketing and tax compliance. Those who participated in the workshop are eligible for a loan to support expansion of their enterprise. As they pay their loans back, other young people can receive funding as well, keeping the cycle of giving and growth going!

You can support these young people and more on Giving Tuesday, November 28. Donations made here are eligible for a match from GlobalGiving, making your gift go further!

The last several years have seen a reversal of progress toward food security globally, due to the effects of covid-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and climate change. An estimated 800 million people are undernourished (that’s roughly one in ten), and more than one in five children is severely malnourished, leading to stunted growth. 

The Children and Youth Empowerment Centre has seen an uptick in hunger in their community, and they’ve responded by sharing their very limited resources with local families in need.

With our support, along with a gift from a church in Pennsylvania, the CYEC has established a food bank for those facing hunger in their community. To start, community health workers identified three families experiencing extreme hardship. The heads of these families receive food from the food bank, and in exchange, they are working on the CYEC’s agricultural land to produce more vegetables for the food bank, increasing sustainability.

Our support enables these families to feed their children while contributing to the program, building their agency and sustainability. Thank you!