Despite the global pandemic, Elimu’s Cisco Networking Academy, housed inside Elimu Resource Centre in Malindi, assisted 50 youth (15 females / 35 males) during 2020 and into 2021 to gain digital skills they would otherwise never have achieved. Established in September 2019, the first graduation included only 15 graduates. The event held in May 2021 under strict COVID-19 protocols was for 2020 students who struggled over 15 months to be able to complete the normally 3-4 month course. Eight months of lockdowns last year and another sudden lockdown in April 2021 caused major delays. But the students persevered and completed their programs. It was a simple and small but very joy-filled celebration when it finally took place in May.
Elimu's Cisco instructor, Anthony, is working hard to encourage more girls and women to participate. In June, he hosted a Cisco Girls in IT – CyberSecurity training event with 18 young women participating. Currently there are 24 students being trained (11 females / 13 males). For many of these young people it is there first experience with computers. The Cisco IT Essentials course brings them up to par with others who have had much more opportunity to explore and work with technology in school and at home. Elimu's goal is to give these vulnerable youth access to the skills and experience they need to succeed in today's digital era.
Of the 50 graduates, 52% used their new digital skills for work related outcomes including finding jobs, improving their own professional skills and one started his own graphics business; another 36% continued on to further studies in IT-related fields.
Hear from an Elimu Alumni
Hosea Kamau started attending Elimu Resource Center in Grade 9 to access the digital resources he needed to improve in his studies. He has been an active volunteer of Elimu’s since 2016 and still returns to help out when his university is on break. He was initially interested in engineering but after taking the Cisco IT Essentials course with Elimu he changed his mind and applied for a Bachelor of Computer Science which he is currently pursuing. The Elimu team assisted him with all he needed to successfully apply for a government bursary and student loan so that he could follow his dream career. He plans to come back to Elimu Resource Center to study a higher level Cisco course which he believes will be vital to his professional development. Click the link below to hear Hosea's enthusiasm for the future in a brief video clip on Elimu’s YouTube Channel.
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