Kenya has one of the world's largest youth populations - more than 75% of its 45 million residents are under 30. Of these, 14% are unemployed and about 25% are largely underemployed. With only 1 in 10 Kenyans attending university, most lack job skills. This project will provide technical job skills, entrepreneurial and computer skills training, health education and life skills support to youth from the informal settlements in Nyeri. Our goal is to help youth lift themselves from poverty.
In Nyeri town, 60% of the 250,000 population are youth under 30, who live in these informal settlements and lack job skills. HIV/AIDS is taking an extremely heavy toll on people of reproductive age, who would otherwise be the most productive part of the population. Unemployment and education rates are low, and there is limited programming to engage and train youth who make a living in the informal or agricultural sectors (which employ 80% the Kenyan population).
The project will help out-of-school and unemployed youth between 16 and 29 years to gain skills to become self-reliant. We will provide vocational and life skills training , focusing on the high demand fields of tailoring, welding, masonry, all of which allow for self-employment. We'll offer apprenticeships by building private sector partnerships. We'll continue to run our informal school and health education programs, so youth can remain healthy and focused on their training.
Over 12 months, we will train: - 12 youth construction trades, (6 month course twice a year) - 72 youth and adults in computer skills - 10 youth in tailoring These individuals will gain skills in extremely high demand fields, enabling them to find jobs or start a business, and support their families. Ultimately, they will gain agency over the direction their life takes -- a rarity for marginalized youth from slum communities.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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