One in five young adults in KENYA is unemployed, more than twice the rate for the workforce as a whole. Yet I am convinced there has never been a better time to be young. The world is bursting with opportunity; every day, new inventions answer questions we had never thought to ask. It’s time to tackle youth unemployment in that spirit; as Einstein said, “we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Generation Y should stop asking “why me?” and start asking “why not?”
First, we must adopt the right mindset: positive in outlook and global in ambition. For optimism stems, not from denying change, but from recognizing the possibilities it presents. The job-for-life has gone – but so has the tedium of career monogamy. International competition has intensified – but also opened up new opportunities abroad. So let’s forget misplaced nostalgia and address the heart of the problem. Youth unemployment has been rising for a decade; the financial crisis can’t take all the blame, but it can teach us to challenge easy assumptions. As a result of the raising costs of living, basic needs have become a mirage for many. Those who were dependent on odd jobs now have no source of income, so what do they do? Of course like you and me they also have to meet their basic needs, the only way they know how, survival on the street. Yes we can, but only if we do it together, as a society. I -Care Development Organization (I-CDO) KENYA seeks to improve the socio-economic well being of vulnerable youths and children and youth in Murang’a County. I-CDO Kenya is a story of commitment by its founders to bring love, hope and help to address the challenges faced by thousands of children and youths in central Kenya especially in Murang’a County. These children need health, education and care. I-CDO Kenya works to empower communities to meet the needs of the children and work with families and household members and also unemployed youngsters to enable them provide health and education services to their very vulnerable children. To make this vision a reality, this organization not only looks to provide the extra
capacity required to support children development ,disabled ,unemployed young men and women into employment but also act as the catalyst for a wider and more sustainable culture change in our efforts. We wish to use this opportunity as the catalyst for establishing the structures to make such improvements for generations to come. This culture change will rest upon clear governance arrangements and lines of accountability, effective commissioning and information sharing. This will dovetail in with our national leadership as a county on early intervention, and also builds upon our successful strategies for increasing apprenticeship levels and in addressing troubled families and gangs.It does however require several improvements from us. It requires us as a county to improve the employability skills of young people in schools. It also requires us to build upon the positive local relationship between Murang’a County, government institution and people to ensure that employers can respond to a more coherent offer, extending this further through support and challenge for community based groups. It requires us as part of a wider focus to ensure that supply of education and training matches demand in the economy, supported by a fit for purpose local further education system. We,I-CDO are committed to this journey of improvement. This organization outlines a critical stepping stone in our journey along this path. It will have clear leadership, be evidence led and make informed commissioning decisions on interventions that make a real difference to the lives of citizens in Kenya that will ultimately deliver economic growth. To initiate this, it will support Children, and young people currently out of work into jobs, changing both their lives and the system that intended to support them. The areas of intervention of this organization are located in central region of Kenya in Murang’a County. People living in these areas are in condition of extreme poverty and consequently they have no possibility to afford the costs of basic needs, such as shelter, education, healthcare and food. The majority of the families have an average number of six children per household and they struggle to survive by doing odd jobs. Therefore, all the family incomes are basically oriented to first needs and in most cases they cannot afford the cost of school fees for the children. In the case of a family that can afford the cost of the school fees, most of them don’t have money to purchase school materials, as exercise books and texts. As a result most of these poor families choose very simple and poor but affordable schools for their children. Children from poor families attend schools that have no libraries or opportunities for research. Yet these very children are examined together with the rest of the better off children who have access to good schools with all the necessary facilities. The extreme consequence of this is that the children that are in need of a scholarship to continue their studies, are the ones without possibilities to obtain it. The opposite is true, that it is the well off children who after attending very good schools perform better and are eligible for free higher education at university level. For the children from these poor families who succeed to be in school, continuing with the education is still a big challenge this is because many of them drop out (stop) due to other reasons such as family needs. For example many girls stop going to school in order to take care of the sick parent at home or boys to do some work to support the home. By the time such a child is free to go back to school it is no longer possible to continue with the regular schools. The only options are entrepreneurs and vocational skills training. However the, cost of entrepreneurs and vocational skills training, that could be considered as a middle solution between work and school, are still beyond the means of many poor families living in these slum areas. Illiteracy have negative consequences on the whole family, for the reason that a parent that hasn’t received an education, is not able to get a good job and is not able to pay the school fees for his children. Unfortunately the same parent cares very little about the size of his family thereby creating a vicious circle of poor families transmitted from generation to generation. Through increasing quality and access to affordable education for poor children, and skills training for poor youth and women, this organization aims to give a concrete possibility of social and economic empowerment to the adults of tomorrow and to all their families. Therefore, in this organization we request you to support us for entrepreneurs, vocational skills training and establishment of a reaction and business center, to run a literacy school, to create a library, to build a youth sport center, to run professional trainings, ICT training, training for local CBOs, to run a didactic cinema, and to promote community development. Introduction
I CARE DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION(i-CDO) is a Non Profit Non Governmental Organization.The major aim of this Organization is to promote welfare of the youth since their childhood. The Organization works under the spirit of volunteering by staff members. Members work in the major working areas for the sense of helping children and youth. To make this vision a reality, this organization not only looks to provide the extra capacity required to support children development ,disabled ,unemployed young men and women into employment but also act as the catalyst for a wider and more sustainable culture change in our efforts. It does however require several improvements from us. We, I-CDO are committed to this journey of improvement.
I CARE DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION(i-CDO) is a Non Profit Non Governmental Organization their major aim of this Organization is to promote welfare of the youth since their childhood. The Organization works under the spirit of volunteering by staff members. Vision
I CARE DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION-KENYA( I-CDO) vision is to see all the children and youth leading a happy fulfilling and fruitful life. Mission
Exists to promote & secure the rights of children and young persons in order for them to realize their full potential
I -Care Development Organization (I-CDO) KENYA seeks to improve the socio-economic well being of vulnerable youths and children and youth in Murang’a County.
