Youth Inclusion Projects and Violence Reduction: Perceptions from the NYS Cohorts Programme in Mathare and Kibera

Abstract

This paper seeks to address the connection between economic opportunities and violence prevention, through an in-depth study of the National Youth Service (NYS) Community Cohorts Programme – the biggest youth empowerment programme in Kenya’s recent history. Using field data, it seeks to answer the following question: To what extent did the National Youth Service Community Cohorts Programme in Kenya contribute to violence prevention in the low-income neighborhoods of Mathare and Kibera? Empirically, using the NYS as a case study, the paper will provide new data on the impact of youth programs that simultaneously seek to promote livelihoods and economic opportunities towards dealing with the challenges of violence and exclusion. It will also explore the impact of such projects in reducing violence at the local level. Theoretically, the study will contribute to broader scholarly discussions on youth and violence in Africa, as well as the economic incentives and motivations argument in preventing and reducing violence. Redesigned in 2013, the NYS programme sought to reach thousands of youth in poor urban areas, and by offering them jobs to improve their neighborhoods, the goal was to provide them with a new sense of purpose in their life, and potentially, steer them away from deviant behavior. The NYS initiative is the most ambitious jobs and economic opportunities project for urban and rural youth in Kenya. Given its scale and the resource commitment from the Kenya government, the NYS initiative will continue to be a reference for other youth-focused initiatives and, thus, provides a useful case for the study of the economic opportunities-violence nexus.