Educate and Empower Street Children in Kenya

Penn State students and faculty again spent three amazing weeks at the Children and Youth Empowerment Centre in May. Each year the CYEC asks us to work on specific projects, both at the Centre and at the polytechnic. This year we worked with them on their regenerative agriculture plots, developing and offering brief business development workshop for students at the polytechnic, and working with their counselor and social worker on a lifeskills peer mentoring program.

Agriculture is the backbone of the Kenyan economy, especially in rural areas. Most farms are small and use limited inputs, and over time the soil has degraded. The poly, in collaboration with Penn State, is creating a training and outreach program in conservation/regenerative agriculture to restore soil health. The principles are minimal tillage, the use of cover crops and crop rotation to restore nutrients to the soil. This year’s ag team provided education to the staff on conservation ag and helped create a nursery for seedlings. A graduate student also carried out focus groups and key informant interviews to learn about awareness and attitudes toward conservation agriculture as we seek to develop an outreach and training program.

The polytechnic offers programs in plumbing and masonry, catering, tailoring, electrical technician, and beautician. Students are likely to be self-employed after they complete their program as employment is hard to find. They asked our PSU students to offer an introduction to entrepreneurship and small business development, to help them think through the issues they'll need to consider as they set out on their own. 

The Centre has a counselor and social worker who support the needs of the young people at the Centre, but they rarely have time for broad programs across the population of students. They asked us to help develop a lifeskills program to be shared with all the kids, along with a peer mentoring program so the older students can support the younger ones. Our PSU students worked with the staff here to refine and carry out the sessions, and they were heartened by the response of the young people. 

We value the opportunity to for our students to learn and grow alongside their Kenyan colleagues! Thanks for another great year!