We were paid a courtesy call by Our main Donors IYF.Colleen,Cate,Cate and Peter came down to meet the NairoBits course two and three students at the FHOK center in Eastleigh and to have a Focused Group Discussion with this group of youth.They were on a mission to find out: the most important issues young persons in Kenya feel should be addressed,what the youth are excited about,and what the youth are worried about.
They say they have been doing similar Focused Group discussions in different parts of the world this year to collect information to be used to advise governments on the programs to provide for the youth in the year 2011 and beyond.
IYF thematic areas include working with organizations focusing on employability and entrepreneurship,education outside school like FGDs,Citizenship like education on rights,Technology and technological skills dissemination,Learning or Education and Health.IYF has over the years cultivated the culture of working with transparent Non Governmental organizations.They also insist on accountability,skill acquisition and skill delivery,reaching out to people who make a difference,supporting people who who work with youth as their primary target group.Currently IYF works in 70 different countries around the world in partnership with different like minded organizations.
The focused group discussion they conducted had the following questions:
What excites you about being a citizen of Kenya?
The Kenyan youth felt excited about:being involved,living in a peaceful country,recognition of youth in Kenya,access to rights like education,they were excited about free education,free movement,free water supply in the ghettos/slums.
What do you think could be better in Kenya?
Youth wish for more employment opportunities,more opportunity for education,better leadership without the blemish of corruption and insist on having youth filling in the leadership spaces.They are still concerned with narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor to manageable levels through availing resources,getting more platform for innovation supported by political achievement.They wish for more youth resource centers like the one we have in partnership between FHOK and Nairobits to be established not only for the urban youth but also for the youth in the rural areas.It was also interesting to observe that they had an urge of having an improved standards of living that is backed by access to good health centers,more tertiary education opportunities and justice for all. They were sorry that the police were still practicing extra judicial killings and extensively harassing them even with the new constitution in place.This has,according to them,made them flee through the nearest exit whenever they spot a police officer rather than collaborate with the police force to combat crime.
Are youth politically and socially informed in Kenya?
Youth are politically engaged in Kenya but in the wrong sense.It was observed regrettably that most of the youth are usually used to fuel political chaos by the politicians instead of involving them in constructive development programs. Youth in this forum wished for the full implementation of the new constitution to the letter and to the word of the law.They also reiterated that they would like to have an objective political space with adequate and correct information for increased participation.
Are the health services available youth friendly?
Unanimously ,it was observed that public hospitals were not as youth friendly as the private institutions or social organizations. It was felt that for a center or institution to qualify as youth friendly it had to encompass the following: Must have youth running the programs ,must be confidential,must have resources ,services be delivered fast enough,must have relaxed settings,must provide a variety of services, must employ several modes of communications targeting youth,must have a youthful environment.
What are the places a visitor in Kenya should try and what kind of music would you recommend?
Youth in the FGD suggested a visit to Ghettos,Coast, Mathare slums and Kibera.As for music, local gigs would suffice with big names like punit group,Juliani and Ken Wamaria being featured in the list.Be sure to sample a lot of reggea tunes down in the Ghetto.