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Kenyan Youth Entangled in Problems Hindering Development

BY Soko Directory Team · April 25, 2017 06:04 am
By Amina Faki

Being a youth nowadays is a hard task to bear, challenges from every inch of your being. Only the strong willed ones can survive.

Youths bear the largest percentage in the overall Kenyan population, and this makes them a valuable asset in the country.

Most youths not only in Kenya face a lot of challenges that deter them from making a step in their personal and economic growth.

Employment creation; There are about 500,000 youth who graduate from various tertiary institutions yearly ready to enter the job market every year. However, due to the slow economic growth, corruption, nepotism and demand for experience by potential employers, 75 percent remain unemployed

Empowerment and Participation; Young people need a youth branded platform from where they can speak powerfully, take appropriate action, and inspire belief that will have a catalytic impact all over the country through youth-led development initiatives. Youth empowerment and participation is a dynamic cycle.
Overall, it is anticipated that the outcome of Youth Empowerment and participation is the strong contribution to National prosperity, economic competition, and reduced unemployment. When empowered, young people can contribute greatly towards good governance and democracy with a passionate desire to be the catalyst for National Development.

Health; Health has become a major issue among the youth. Apart from the traditional health problems like malaria, tuberculosis and the more conservative sexually transmitted diseases, the exponential spread of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse have become issues of major concern.
Mental health is increasingly becoming a common problem among the youth. Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, psychosis, and substance abuse is also becoming leading mental problems among the youth. Reproductive health is also an issue among the youths that should be addressed.

Education and training; education system aims at imparting knowledge to youths in order to enhance self-employment but due to the high costs, poverty and lack of facilities, there have been high school dropout rates. Most of the youth either drop out of school or graduate without necessary skills for self-employment. Many girls drop out of school due to early pregnancies.
The country’s training institutions are also either inadequate or lack the essential facilities and technology to prepare students for the challenging market demands.

Crime and Drugs; Alcohol, cigarettes, miraa, and cannabis Sativa have remained the most popular abused substances in the country.
There is a fast emerging trend of injecting drug use especially narcotic. Moreover, abuse of drugs is highly associated with the risks of contracting HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases, especially among the youth. Violent criminal attacks, including rape, mugging, armed carjacking and home invasions are increasingly being associated with the youth these days. Over 50 percent of all the convicted criminals are young people aged between 16 and 25 years.

Leisure, recreation, and community service; current investment in leisure and recreation have not reflected its importance. The sector suffers from inadequate funds and facilities while the talented youth lack motivation and are often exploited by organizations. Due to these constraints, it has not been possible to tap fully the talents of many youths.

Political Influence; youths are easily swayed by political leaders on their political beliefs hence leading to violence, inadequate distribution of resources and has led to tribal issues in the country at large.

Youth with Special Needs; the categories of youths with special needs have been identified as the: Unemployed youth; Out of school youth; Female youth; Youth infected and affected by HIV/Aids; Street youth; physically, and mentally challenged youth; and Youth in difficult circumstances.

Access to Financial Resources; Traditional financial institutions have avoided lending to youth due to their relative inability to comply with the high transaction costs, difficulty in assessing and managing their risk profile, and lack of the required financial documentation as well as collateral.

If all these issues are addressed, every youth in the country will be at a better place to manage their lives with a few challenges and foresee development both at the personal and the national level.

 

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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