Youth Action
Youth Action
Youth Action is the heart of G-Youth Project as all other components are connected to it. Youth Action focuses on genuine youth empowerment in a way that enables the youth of Garissa to become active participants in the design and implementation of programs and services that impact their lives and their futures.
Such activities include the establishment of a new district-wide umbrella youth organization led and managed by youth; support to new and existing youth organizations within the five locations of Garissa Municipality whose capacities are being developed with leadership skills and management skills to enable them to lead change in their communities; a Youth Fund where youth will be empowered to play a leadership role in the organization of and disbursement of the fund; and the organization of two annual Youth Action and Work Summits and regional youth action plans.
Building the Capacities of Youth Organization
Through a partnership with Kenya Community Development Foundation, G-Youth will disburse funds in the form of grants to both new and existing and registered youth led organizations to help them develop their ideas into programs that impact on their communities and on their future lives. In doing so EDC/G-Youth draws from experience it has had in establishing other youth led organizations in Haiti, Palestine, and Rwanda. G-Youth is helping to build the leadership skills of Garissa youth in close collaboration with community stakeholders, SUPKEM and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The Youth Fund
GâYouth has established a sizable multi-purpose Youth Fund that facilitates opportunities to empower youth. The Fund is being used as an empowerment mechanism to put the needed financial resources into the hands of Garissan youth to design and lead initiatives that have the greatest potential to improve their economic and social opportunities as well as impact their communities. The youth fund also includes the provision of leadership development training; and a scholarship fund to help vulnerable youth attend secondary school, NEP TTI, or other formal educational institutions. A small percentage of the fund will be help youth to implement activities related to the Youth Civics component of the project. The Project targets to support 100 to 120 youth led organizations in Garissa. The youth fund will be managed by Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) under the guidance of the G-Youth management team.
The Youth Action & Work Summits and Action Plans
The first Youth Summit, held in May 2010, celebrated youth achievements in Garissa, and provided youth with a forum to express themselves and discuss issues that were important to them. Key aspects of that effort were the showcasing of youth community projects, dialogue among youth on issues relevant to them, and networking between Garissa youth and youth groups from other parts of the country. In this phase the projects targets to engage 2,500 youth each year through annual action and the work summit.
Garissa youth will take the lead in organizing the annual Youth Action Summit. The Summit will be a multi-tiered event featuring project exhibitions, forums, and social and cultural activities. A special feature of the Youth Summit will be a parallel work summit in which youth are able to learn about career paths and explore job opportunities with local and regional employers. A major outcome of the Summit will be the establishment of a regional Youth Action Plan. The Plan will identify key political, economic, and social issues that Garissa youth view as important to their growth and development.
Garissa Youth been trained on leadership A New day for Garissa Youth