Raising Futures Kenya is building a new Seed of Hope training centre in the heart of a marginalised slum community in Nairobi. Our Seed of Hope programme provides vocational training and business & computer skills courses, alongside counselling, food and support for 14-25 year olds, many living in poverty, enabling young people to secure employment or start a business becoming self-reliant. Our Nairobi centre currently runs from shipping containers on a plot of land, we want to change this!
Unemployment in Kenya has tripled since COVID-19. At least 1.5 million young people are out of work, dramatically increasing the number of people living in poverty and out of school education. Unemployment and poverty put young people, especially girls, at high risk of exploitation such as child marriage, teenage pregnancy, selling sex as a means to survive, drug/alcohol addiction and criminal activity. With girls not returning to school they have no employment skills or qualifications.
Our new training centre will enable vulnerable young people aged 14-25 (75%girls) from poor areas of Nairobi to access free skills training in: Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Fashion Design, Catering & Hospitality, Business & Computer Skills. Students also receive free food, counselling, childcare vouchers and support to enable them to attend lessons and focus. This combined support enables graduates to secure employment or start a business, becoming self-reliant and able to support their families.
We've already seen the long term impact of this programme having run it successfully since 2004, with over 90% of graduates in employment or education. Within 6 months of graduating 95% graduates will be earning enough to live above the poverty line. Many go on to financially support their families, including paying school fees for siblings, helping to break the cycle of poverty for families in vulnerable communities. A new centre means we could support 510 young people a year (currently 195).
