A section of youth in Bangladesh informal settlement in Mombasa have benefited from a car washing project launched by a Member of a County Assembly (MCA) as a means of job creation.
The youth received car washing machines and water tanks on Sunday in an effort to help them start carwashing businesses and help the community.
The Mikindani ward MCA in Mombasa, Renson Juma Thoya who launched the project said it would help reduce the high rate of youth unemployment in the coastal county.
Thoya said the youth who engaged in carwash services would in the long run have no time to engage in criminal activities or indulge in drug and substance abuse.
He said the project was designed as a social scheme that sought to ensure that young people across Jomvu sub county of Mombasa are trained in entrepreneurial endeavors and skills.
The MCA said the car wash business would provide hope to desperate youth in search for jobs as well as contribute to the local economy.
He said the youth constituted an important element of the socio-economic development of any country and that their energy and exuberance needed to be tapped for meaningful progress to take place.
Thoya called on the youth in the coastal city to stay away from anti-social vices and instead pursue helpful ventures that would empower them economically.
Amos Ochieng, a youth leader welcomed the initiative, saying without such income generating activities, many young people in the informal settlements would end up seeking alternative means of survival which often led to criminal activities.
Another youth leader, Jack Okeyo said the project would keep the youth in slum areas that faced challenges of poverty and unemployment involved in meaningful and productive activities.
Alfred Nyamosi, a community activist said young people needed to be nurtured and supported to engage in productive activities noting that the carwash project was a ‘good beginning.’
He asked the young people to support and embrace income generating activities and keep off from engaging in criminal activities and indulging in drugs.
The community activist advised the youth to be disciplined and become responsible citizens saying the country cannot develop if they engaged in negative activities.
By Hussein Abdullahi
