This project focuses on civic education in relation to elections. HMDS believes that youth have a big stake in future governance and development of their communities and the nation of Kenya. Not voting, apathy and mistrust of election process in general and a feeling of marginalisation creates the scenarios where violence all too often become a part of the elections in Kenya. Nakuru has had it fair share of violence in relation to election and the fear of what might happen during the election in august 2017 is already present in the mind of people in Nakuru.
This project emanate from a desire within HMDS to engage youth to vote. HMDS has a very strong grass rote connection in the communities where they work, and have from both formal and civil society level been approached on the subject of engaging youth in voter and civic education. HMDS receives continues information from the communities they work in through their strong personal connections in the communities from their many years of work. When visiting HMDS sets aside two hours for general talk about problems / needs in the local communities. Participating are both elder and un-official leaders (youth and community), and there are also individual meetings being held with the different leaders depending on the subjects. HMDS also has good connections with churches in the communities, as church representatives are often members of the board of the YPs. Besides this, the broad personal network among the staff of HMDS secures a strong connection for the organisation to Nakuru County. Government goodwill is also present. Skilled government personnel are at times part of projects run by HMDS, participating for free and with good intentions.
As HMDS – like Periamma – are new to a project that entirely focuses on advocacy and civic education, they have for this project enlisted four other NGOs/CBOs from Nakuru as partners in the project;
- CEDGG (Centre for Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance)
- Jawabu Kenya (meaning”Solution” in Kiswahili)
- Maisha Initiative Kenya (meaning “Life” in Kiswahili)
- Nakuru County Women Empowerment Forum.
These new partner organisations have prior experience regarding voter and civic education and have worked with the IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for Kenya) before. They will therefore bring invaluable knowledge and skills to the project. This will strengthen the project planning and execution and give HMDS the opportunity to gain new experiences before and during the project in the field of advocacy, voter and civic education.
As the project foci is somewhat new ground for HMDS they have applied for and been accepted into the Global South Civil Society Support Programme (http://globalsouthplatform.net) financed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Through the program, HMDS will participate in workshops run by MS/ActionAid Kenya.
Periamma could not have found or engaged the four new Kenyan partners had it not been for HMDS. HMDS is therefore an integral part of this project, even though they are more a part of this project to learn about the, for both HMDS and Periamma, new focus areas of advocacy and voter and civic education. They also bring the strength of an organisation that can handle the position of coordinating and monitoring a project with six partners all in all. Therefore, even though the four new partners bring expertise that will shape the Outputs of this project, HMDS brings the trust Periamma holds in them and their desire to learn from this project.
The project’s objectives.
This project’s overall objective is to facilitate an informed and empower youth in Nakuru County, Kenya that engage and participate peacefully in the Kenyan national election in 2017 and the politics that surrounds it.
Specifically, the project will be run based on three objectives, these include:
- To facilitate youth participation in Kenya´s 2017 general elections through direct promotion and through training peer educators in civic and voter education
- To facilitate peaceful participation in Kenya´s 2017 general elections through direct promotion and through training peer educators in civic and voter education as means to advocate for a peaceful elections
- To facilitate more youth participation directly in Kenyan politics
Timeline:
Besides a deadline for voter registration in May, the partners of this project have ensured that the activities are evenly spread out over the little more than six month the project has available for activities.
MASOMO KWA AJIRA PROJECT (MAKA) – CO:OPERAID
“MASOMO KWA AJIRA” (MAKA, 2015-2017, i.e. Studies for Employment) project has introduced short term courses providing skills for self-employment and employment. Intention is to reduce poverty and unemployment among the target group in poor households in selected communities in Nakuru and Baringo Counties. The overall goal of the program is to enable the youth to be better equipped with skills that enable sustainable livelihoods.
On the one hand the project is newly equipping 3 YPs (Rongai, Kware and Lion’s) and developing them to more modern vocational schools, similar to the two former project phases. The project has applied a market oriented, flexible and low cost approach to skills development training by using four already well-established and equipped Youth Polytechnics(Mogotio, Cheptuech, Njoro and Ndumu Dam) of project phases Vijana Na Ujuzi (VNU, 2012-2014 and TLV, Tumaini La Vijana 2008-2011), which is piloting for short term courses. The approach is strongly focused on local market opportunities and aims to enable the trainees to immediately generate income out of the skills acquired. A shortened training curriculum is followed to make the vocational training cost effective and affordable for youth (and their families). Training is delivered on Saturdays and during school holidays when instructors and infrastructure of YP’s are available.
The Project objectives and activities
Project goal (impact)
Trained youth (both male and female) who are employable, self-reliant and responsible members of society
Outcome 1: YP’s provide quality and market-oriented short skills training for unemployed youth
Output 1.1: 4 Curricula for short skills training are developed and successfully implemented
Output 1.2: 20 instructors with experience to deliver short skills training available
Outcome 2 Reinforced YP’s providing skills to unemployed youth
Output 2.1: Partner YPs are appropriately equipped. Instructors and trainees have access to adequate teaching and learning facilities (i.e. textbooks, tools, machines, materials and computers).
Output 2.2: Overall management, teaching and learning processes in partner YPs are
Outcome 3: Youths using entrepreneurial, social and life skills
Output 3.1: Entrepreneurial training and start-up support provided and network established
Output 3.2: Girls clubs developed and counselling and life skills training provided
Output 3.3: Sports material and equipment provided and 1 sport event organized
Based on the problem statement the project is stimulating the introduction of market oriented short skills trainings into existing YP’s. Component 1 of the project, the introduction of short courses, is supporting YP’s which were already revitalized by either TLV or VNU projects. In addition they showed a good performance in the past years. Component 2 is a continuation of TLV and VNU projects.
UJUZI KWA VIJANA (UKV)-SKILLS FOR YOUTH PROJECT – ICARE
The UKV concept aims to provide the opportunity for youth out of formal schooling to undertake vocational skill training through Youth Polytechnics (YPs), to make them employable, productive, self-reliant and responsible members of society. Secondly, to embrace upon the community to value and accept the YP as a necessary institution for empowering the youth through vocational training, on to employment and self-employment. The action echoes government’s strategic intervention to address the youth agenda, especially regarding their unemployment situation.
This project plans to achieve this objective by reinforcing and revitalising the Piave YP through the provision of appropriate textbooks, tools and equipment, by developing stakeholder capacity (advanced teacher training and Board Management [BOG] training), establishment of Girl-child clubs to encourage more girls to participate in the YP, and provide assistance to graduates by providing business start-up trainings and kits.
Project Objectives
Main Goal and specific objectives
Main goal: Trained youth who are employable, productive, self-reliant and responsible members of society.
Specific objectives:
- Reinforcement of Piave YP through the provision of learning and teaching facilities i.e. tools, equipment, materials, textbooks and computers, to facilitate access to teaching and learning facilities and reinforce quality training in partner YPs.
- Career upgrading of instructors careers to Diploma level and Management capacity building of BOG members to enhance YP’s academic and managerial performance
- Establishment of a Girls’ Club to facilitate guidance and counselling of all girl trainees and mentor the girl-child in their training approach and socio-economic independence
- Competitive entrepreneurship training and provision of enterprise start-up tool kits and machines to graduates to enhance self-employment and creation of more employment opportunities.