Engaging the youth in Kenya: empowerment, education, and employment

Abstract

Youth bulges have become a global phenomenon and Kenya is no exception to this trend. In Kenya, the youth bulge presents a number of challenges for both the youth and the country. Youth represent the most abundant asset Kenya has or will have over the near future. Nonetheless, there have been a considerable number of surveys conducted and reports and studies published that invariably conclude that there are persistent risks and challenges faced by Kenyan youth. The youth are, and will remain, a significant share of Kenya's population for the foreseeable future. Developing and implementing appropriate strategies, policies and programmes to mitigate the risks and challenges they (the youth) face must be much more of a priority for the government than it currently is. Any failure to provide appropriate opportunities for this large segment of the population could have enormous economic, political, cultural, and social consequences. Engaging the youth population fully is therefore no longer a choice but an imperative in the development process. This work advocates for, and analytically discusses, strategies for engaging the youth through empowerment, education, and employment.

Building a Youth Development System in Kenya: Comparing Kenyan Perceptions of Local and National Systems

“…In addition to the challenges associated with Kenya's formal education system, Kenya's youth face a number of other obstacles (Hope, 2012) that limit their likelihood of future success, and consequently their contribution to the development of the country. As 5,000,000 youth annually leave basic and post-basic education and seek access to further training or employment (Adams, 2011), many find themselves unable to access these next steps because of Kenya's slow economic growth and the weak capacity of the economy to absorb available labor (Omolo, 2010 The need to supplement Kenya's formal education system as well as address youths' risk and health-compromising behaviors has created an opportunity for other entities to support the future success of Kenya's youth (defined within Kenyan culture as a person under the age of 34) (UNDP, 2013).…”

“…However, the existent system has not been sufficient for meeting these desired outcomes nor has it been able to accommodate the needs of many youth in the country (Adams, 2011;Balwanz, 2012;Hope, 2012). For example, even though there now is free public education, the fees and costs for uniforms and school materials are still prohibitive for many families, the testing for continued education preclude several young people from furthering their education and the overall quality of the schools especially in the public sector remain problematic (Glennerster, Kremer, Mbiti, & Takavarasha, 2011).…”

“…Community organizations, government social services, faith-based partners, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are called upon to assist the public education enterprise in addressing the educational and developmental needs that exist among these young people. Many organizations have responded to these challenges by providing a multitude of problem-related and opportunity-focused programs and services (Balwanz, 2012;Hope, 2012), with many of these programs and services expressly targeting youth unemployment and entrepreneurship skill-building among the youth.…”

“…Without a concerted effort among all stakeholders to build a coordinated and comprehensive system for youth development in Kenya, the efficacy of programs to promote the positive, healthy development of youth and their contribution to Kenyan society may be limited (Bennell, 2007;Hope, 2012;Mabala, 2011). Systemic, country-wide change in Kenya requires a sustained coalition of institutions and individuals pursuing a common agenda with a shared set of goals based on the unique strengths and needs of Kenya (Kubisch, Auspos, Brown, & Dewar, 2010).…”

“…Policies, programs and services have been initiated since the turn of the Century to provide young people with a pathway to prosperity and to engage them in the advancement of Kenyan culture and society. The goal of these programs has been to support Kenya's youth as they move towards empowerment, education, and employment (Hope, 2012).…”