Hundreds of youth gather in Garissa for youth development conference

[Haatu]

Hiiraan Online

Friday, May 07, 2010

 

Garissa, North East Kenya (HOL) - The Garissa Youth Days is a youth summit held in early May designed to empower the young people of Garissa district in North Eastern Kenya. Through its various exhibitions which are sponsored by a league of partners both local and international, it aims to tackle many issues that otherwise hinder the development and livelihood of teenagers and young adults in North Eastern province.

The multi day summit is being held on May 4, 5 and 6 at various venues in Garissa town. It is divided into a series of events which help the participants build valuable life skills, bridge both technical and university education opportunities and introduce them to career paths. More importantly, they are given the opportunity to showcase their ideas, voice their opinions and be heard by their peers and adult leaders.

 

The conference kicked off on the morning May 4th with the Community Projects Exhibition at the Agricultural Training Centre. Students advertised projects ranging from HIV-AIDS prevention to conservation of the environment with the help from community mentors. The exhibitions came from all 36 villages of the municipality and included prominent speakers such as the Hon. Aden Barre Duale, MP from Dujis and Assistant Minister of Livestock Development; the Director of Education USAID Kenya, Dwaine Lee, and Jacqueline Glin the Project Director of G-Youth. They shared the stage with local musicians, actors, poets and comedians who entertained the crowd of 300.

Among the group of sponsors were USAID, EDC (Education Development Centre), Equity Bank and Star FM.

 

Ibrahim Hussein Mohamed, Deputy Project Director of the G-Youth program and one of the key facilitators of the event spoke to Hiiraan Online; he said “this is a rare opportunity for the youth of Garissa to interact and to engage with one another. I am proud to announce that G-Youth has further plans to expand the program to the rest of North Eastern Kenya.” Ibrahim also said that G-Youth is hoping and planning for an even bigger youth conference next year.

 

Later on that day the women of Garissa were given the opportunity to network and receive training on public speaking in a female-only invitational event.

The summit was concluded with a youth forum at Nomad Hotel conference centre on May 6th to discuss youth policy at local, provincial and national levels. Youth leaders and participants were given the opportunity to voice their praises and criticisms of the current policy as well as provide suggestions for reform.

The young had a chance to hear from the old as they listened to presentations from a variety of speakers who were somehow either directly or indirectly involved with G-Youth.

 

Philemon Irungu Kiburu of Equity bank gave a moving speech about the significance of youth involvement in the development of Kenya. He reminded the mostly young audience that the youth aged between 18 and 30 comprise most of the Kenyan population and they hold the keys to Kenya’s progress. He told the listeners “young people, not the old are the ones who most often make history” citing the plight of Nelson Mandela and the achievements of some of the world’s most prominent businessmen as his evidence.

 

Among the keynote speakers was the Deputy Mayor of Garissa town, Ismail Mohamed Garad (Qoreye), who urged the youth of his town not to be discouraged by what may appear as bleak opportunities, but to believe firmly in their future and strive towards their aspirations. He also praised G-Youth for their efforts because it is in effect the only NGO working actively with youths in Garissa. He also made some more controversial statements about the marginalization of the North East Province and why it is lacking considerably behind the rest of Kenya. He urged the Kenyan government to take productive steps in narrowing the gaps created by national policies that have been the product of years of injustice and lack of representation. He is hopeful that the passing of the new draft constitution in Kenya can help correct these errors and help move them en route to the right direction.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Horta garisa iyo nfd somaliweyn ma iska dayeen , waligood iyago jabhad sameystey oo kenya ka so horjeeda ma arkin

[Haatu]

[Haatu]

Originally posted by Xaji_Xunjuf:

Horta garisa iyo nfd somaliweyn ma iska dayeen , waligood iyago jabhad sameystey oo kenya ka so horjeeda ma arkin

Maad maqlin miyaa? Shifto weligaa ma maqashey?

[Haatu]

[Hales]

Its great for the youth to get involved in their own region, great

 

If youve got the time here answer these

 

Are most of the 3Million Somalis in Kenya nomads and is it an economically imporverished region? Also how does the region fair in comparison to other regions in Kenya, is it the poorest for example? least funding spent?

Also Is Garissa the only urban district in the NFD.

Lastly what can you say about the 15 year martial law during the Shifta war, how was daily life like for the civillians?

Thanks

[Haatu]

Hales, I would say a lot of them are nomads, but there's an increasing urban population. Economically it is impoverished. The government only provides limited education and some sort of healthcare. The rest is down to the locals to provide for themselves. Currently, in Garissa for the first time, majority of the plots of land (as in land where houses are built) have piped water. It is down to the owners of the land if they want to connect the pipe to their homes or if they will fill up a barkad (water stroage). As for it's economic position within Kenya, last time I checked it was the second most impoverishe region afetr Nyanza where Kisumu is located on Lake Victoria. Garissa isn't the only urban distric. There are others such as Wajir and Mandheera, but by far Garissa is the most developed. As for the martial law, don't ask me. I wasn't alive back then But from what I know from relatives, life wasn't easy. At one point the majority of the Garissa's residents had to flee to Somalia to escape the persecution. Rape, extra-judicial killings were all a factor of life back then.