Youth from pastoral areas who didn’t get a chance to access education are now benefiting from technical courses, aimed at making them shun livestock dependability for livelihood.
The Ujuzi manyattani initiative of Northern Rangeland Trust (NRT), started five years ago has seen more than 1,300 morans and women from the pastoral areas embrace mechanical, hairdressing, plumbing, barbering, tailoring, masonry and electrical courses for their upkeep, as opposed to livestock keeping, which is prone cattle rustling and drought.
NRT CEO Tom Lalampaa speaking in Doldol, where about 200 youths from Laikipia county graduated with technical courses courtesy of the Ujuzi manyattani initiative, said they had an ambitious plan to equip at least 10,000 of them, with technical skills in the next few years.
“Currently we have trained about 1300 and our target is to hit possibly 1800 youths and with a very ambitious dream of at least 10,000 graduates from across Arid and Semi-Arid Lands,” the NRT boss revealed.
He pointed out some of their target groups to be equipped with life changing technical skills included morans potentially involved in cattle rustling, single mothers and those who never attended school or dropped out due to lack of support.
“My humble plea to all our partners, please support us to achieve this dream of 10,000 youth who will be learning skills and about 90 percent of them will be self-employed. That will change the economy of Northern Kenya and Coastal areas,” said Lalampaa.
The British High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan who was also present praised the initiative noting that the graduates who had acquired technical skills would be of help to their families.
“We hope that the skills you have learned will help your families and communities. You will be a role model and encourage other people to learn the same skills and get opportunities,’’ said Wigan.
Wildlife PS Silvia Museiya said that the government was committed to scaling up youth-led initiatives, thus creating opportunities including honey farming and processing, noting that honey products were not enough in the country.
“We want local enterprises that we could scale up and that could be either honey, since as we are aware it is not enough and it’s in high demand, amid its availability here in Laikipia. We must create industries and provide opportunities to young people for future prospects,” she said.
His Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development PS Harsama Kello said the Ujuzi Manyattani initiative was in line with the government agenda of empowering young people.
Additionally, Kello said young people from pastoral areas and who had acquired technical skills should shun cattle rustling, which had created insecurities in the past.
On her part, Laikipia North Member of Parliament Sarah Korere said that youth graduating with technical courses was laudable and a clear indication that pastoralists could depend on other skills as opposed to livestock keeping to support their families.
Additionally, the lawmaker encouraged those who had dropped out of schools to seize the training opportunities, since the government had availed technical and vocational training institutions closer to them.
One of the youths from Laikipia North, Peter Lerapat and who had graduated in hairdressing and beauty skills said that after completing high school, he was not able to join college due to financial hardships.
Lerapat now says with the skills he has acquired, he would save enough monies to fund his education, saving the family the burden of sponsoring him.
“I chose this course, since after completing secondary education, I lacked school fees to continue considering my parents had other siblings in school, who needed support. I will save enough to join even college,” he said, adding that it was a better opportunity compared to pastoralism, which had no regular income.
Others who graduated said that it would be now easy for them to start businesses of their own, or get employed.
The youth also received business tool start up kits like shaving machines; motorcycles repair kits and cake baking machines.
By Muturi Mwangi
