Kenya has one of the world's largest youth populations - over 75% of its 45 million residents are under 30. Of these, 14% are unemployed and about 25% are underemployed. With only 1 in 10 attending university, most lack formal sector job skills. This project will provide in-demand trades, entrepreneurship and computer 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 through employme.
In Nyeri, the community that we serve, 60% of the 250,000 residents are youth under 29 who live in the town's informal settlements and have no skills for employment. Unemployment rates are high and HIV/AIDS is taking a hefty toll on people of reproductive age, who would otherwise be the most productive part of the population. The small size of the formal employment sector has also exacerbated youth unemployment and limited efforts have been made to support youth in entering the formal sector.
The project will help out-of-school and unemployed youth (16 to 29 yrs) gain skills to become self-reliant. We'll provide trades and life skills training, focusing on the high-demand fields of tailoring, welding, and masonry, all of which allow for self-employment. We'll offer apprenticeships through private-sector partnerships & continue to run our informal school and health education programs so that youth can remain focused on their training instead of caring for their siblings/children.
Over 12 months, we will train - 16 youth construction trades, (a 6-month course twice a year) - 72 youth and adults in computer skills - 10 youth in tailoring. It's a strategy to break the cycle of poverty in a sustainable way. Self-reliant individuals will be able to support their families and contribute to building the community up. associated problems like drug abuse, human trafficking, and prostitution will fall, as will HIV/AIDS rates as participants share information with other people.
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