Young people have been encouraged to pursue sports and the creative industry to help unlock their potentials. This was revealed during the ‘1Million Youth Empowerment Challenge’ held at the University of Nairobi on May 8, 2019.
Speaking during the mentorship program by I Choose Life, Prof. Margaret Kobia, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, observed that sports and arts can help create thousands of jobs for the young people. “In the last financial year, we created 850,000 jobs out of the 1,000,000 jobs we promised to create. 85% of these jobs were from the informal sector, small and medium enterprises, SMEs, “she said. Prof. Kobia challenged young people to lead themselves to desirable thoughts, decisions and goals in life.
Prof. Kobia pointed out that President Uhuru Kenyatta wants to see a prosperous, united, cohesive nation and it is her desire to see such programs that will empower the youth being implemented. I Choose Life mentors students in the following areas: sexual and reproductive health services, education, access to employment and economic empowerment, leadership and governance. She took the opportunity to thank the newly elected UNSA Chair, Anne Mwangi Mvurya for making history and being elected the first female student leader. She pledged to support her in her endeavours to reach the top.
Ambassador Amina Mohammed, the Cabinet Secretary for Sports and Culture urged the young people to support each other to do the right thing. “You can transform peer pressure to peer support, “she said.
University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor, Prof. Peter Mbithi observed that the SEALS program under the I Choose Life initiative seeks to empower the youth with the knowledge, courage and vision to deal with the various challenges that confront them. “The youth are the future of any nation but they face a lot of challenges. The SEALS Program is a holistic approach to engaging the youth in a transformative behaviour change by identifying and addressing the challenges affecting them, “he said. The Vice-Chancellor was represented by Prof. Julius Ogeng’o, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs.
Mike Mutungi, the Chief Executive Officer, I Choose Life, outlined the various youth empowerment programs they are engaged in as an organization and the roadmap to empower 1,000,000 young people in 10 counties in the next 5 years. “The aim is to empower 1,000 University students, who will each empower 1,000 Secondary students, “he said.
The event was attended by several university students from over 10 universities from 10 counties around the country.
