Bungoma Youth Finds his Niche in Poultry Farming TWO years ago, Joseph Kulecho Baraza was not a well-known poultry farmer in his Misikhu village, Bungoma County. He only reared a handful of chicken on a free range system; not for business but to meet his domestic needs. Today, he is among the most promising poultry farmers in the area. With nearly 700 chicken producing between 90 – 120 eggs per day and a known supplier of chicks to others in his sub-county; he is inspiring many especially unemployed youth to consider poultry farming as a profitable venture. His dream of becoming a computer programmer was interrupted when he dropped out of school due to inability to pay fees. He started poultry farming after noticing a shortage in the supply of eggs and chicks in the area.
His effort has landed him a tender of supplying eggs at a local secondary school from which he makes a profit of Sh.2, 000 per week. He has also invested in an incubator that enables him hatch over 500 chicks per week.
“It was a humble beginning.” He recalls. “I began with only 15 chicken with little knowledge on how to care for them.” He learnt a lot from other farmers in the area but it was a K-YES organized training that made him consider poultry farming as agri-business. “I was trained on feeding, disease prevention; obtaining the market for poultry products and how to manage proceeds from the business.” He notes. After the training, he bought 200 layers from which he accumulated a profit of Sh.18, 000 that he invested in ‘improved kienyeji’ chicks that have a higher demand in the area. He buys a day old chick for Sh. 80 and sells one month later for Sh. 200.
With a monthly income of over Sh. 30,000 and having created job opportunities for several youth in his home area; Joseph is an example of how over 800 youth trained on agribusiness in the county are using gained knowledge and experience to benefit others in the community.
How Entrepreneurship Trainings are Empowering Youths in Garissa WHEN Amina Ramadhan completed her primary school examinations in Garissa, she hoped to proceed to high school and college to realize her dream of becoming a nurse. She passed highly and qualified to join a reputable secondary school in the county but since her parents could not afford tuition fees, she was forced to drop out. The situation turned her into a victim of early marriage. Like many young and desperate girls in the area, she got married believing that she could lead a better life as a housewife. She later learnt that it was challenging to entirely depend on her husband as the breadwinner. “I realized that I could acquire some technical skills and earn income.”
undertook business and entrepreneurship training offered by the K-YES program that helped her open her tailoring shop. With a monthly income of nearly Ksh. 20,000, Amina is able to fend for her family and train others in tailoring and soap making. She is among over 900 youth who have dropped out of school and have been empowered with skills that are essential for the job market in the county.
She decided to enrol for tailoring classes at the Sisters Maternity Home (SIMAHO) an Non Governmental Organization partnering with K-YES to offer skills and entrepreneurship training in the county. “It was a well thought and timely training, it opened my thinking and enabled me to set my goals right and change the way I perceive tailoring,” she notes. The mother of two did not only manage to learn and graduate as a tailor from the institution but also
The Program has also reached over 2,300 marginalized individuals including women and youth with initiatives that include acquisition of national identity cards and trainings on access to financial services.
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How Training on Agribusiness is Unlocking Opportunities For Youths Kericho WHEN Stella and David Cheruiyot started growing vegetables on their kitchen garden; it was for their own domestic consumption. Demand for groceries prompted them to expand by growing kales seedlings which they sold to other farmers in the area. A seedling that cost nearly one shilling to produce fetched them a profit of between three to four shillings. Though they raised over Sh 80,000 and invested in dairy farming; they lacked training on how they could benefit more from the venture. “We thought we were better off with a low cost local breed,” Stella notes, “until it dawned on us that we stood to benefit more.”
Equipped with the new information about the trade; they invested in two breeds with a higher milk production capacity. They are also saving their monthly income of around Sh. 40,000 with a plan of expanding their revenue by producing and selling other milk products.
She credits K-YES for empowering them. The program in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture convened trainings on improving farm yields and increasing profits, targeting youth who had dropped out of school. “I attended a three day session on dairy farming and learnt about various dairy species and what was appropriate for us.” She reveals.
Their success has inspired others especially youth to embrace dairy farming. Over 1500 youth have received training on agri-business in the county over the past one year; trainings that have led to the creation of nearly 800 jobs and helped position agriculture as a viable economic activity especially for the youth.
Youth Take Advantage of K-YES Outreach to Register for National Identity Cards THE winding up of the USAID Yes Youth Can project that supported National Identity Card (ID) registration outreaches from 2012- 2014 led to a backlog of unregistered youth in Kwale county because government could not sustain the initiative due to limited resources. It implied that over 30, 000 youth in the county were cut off from enjoying benefits of possessing IDs that include opening a bank account, registering a business, acquiring a driving license, purchasing property, accessing higher education or even obtaining formal employment. Being an expansive county, long distance to registration centres and poor infrastructure hindered many from accessing ID registration offices. Bureaucracies involved in the exercise also contributed to the reluctance by many youths from acquiring the ID.
through National Registration Bureau (NRB) and county administration representatives including chiefs and village elders. The approach is paying off - over 10,000 youth have already registered for IDs. Mobilization has succeeded – thanks to sensitization efforts on the importance of acquiring IDs through worship centres, market places and the media (local radio stations). ‘It is a great relief”, notes Hamisi Kionzi, one of the campaign beneficiaries. “Thanks to the outreach, I have managed to register for the ID”.
The onset of Kenya Youth Employment and Skills and the revival of the “My ID Life My Life” outreaches in the county ignited fresh interest to the whole process of acquiring national IDs in the area.
The community is also proud to own the process. Mobile centres have been established in various places including remote areas in the county. Chiefs and their assistant frequent the venues to support the process as youth volunteer clerical services.
As slogan suggests – “My ID, My Life”, the Identity Card has been positioned not only as an official identification document but also an essential tool for economic empowerment. Various stakeholders are actively involved: the youth through National Youth Bunge Association (NYBA), registration officers
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The Birth of a Business Idea: From Dancing for Fun to Business SAMUEL Omondi, a choreographer in charge of Nairobi based Explodes team has mastered the art of dancing - not just for fun but for business too. Born from a humble background in Siaya County, his peasant parents could not afford his school fees. He was forced to drop-out of Aquinas High School in Nairobi and fight-off the danger of indulging in bad company that often affect most school drop-outs. His passion for dancing made him form a troupe comprising fellow young school drop-outs. It was for fun - he sourced lessons from the internet and reached out to more youth. The effort started paying off – his group started receiving invitations to perform in public events and gatherings. His decision to follow-up on a message received his social media platform turned out to be a life-
changing step. The message was about a work readiness training opportunity targeting youth with primary or some secondary education. The 20-year old dance instructor was enrolled in the training that made him realize he could turn dancing from a hobby to profitable business venture. “The training was short but with long-term benefits.” He notes. “My perception towards dancing changed - from mere fun to business as well.” He reveals that before attending the training, the group used to make less than Ksh. 6,000 per month donated mainly as a token of appreciation. Earnings have since increased to a minimum of Ksh.15,000
per month since the group adopted a business approach thanks to K-YES intervention. Membership has also grown from five to 13 dancers. The group has also formed a Village Saving and Loan and Association (VSLA) from which members can save and gain speedy access to capital. “We are planning to register the group as an entertainment company and expand our presence beyond Nairobi.” He reveals. Samuel is an example of the change that the program envisages among the youth Over 1,300 youth who have dropped out from school in the Nairobi County gain access to new jobs - thanks to K-YES initiatives.