The Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and Arts has embarked on a digital literacy training program targeting youths from all 47 counties nationwide.
Speaking at Ches Bay resort in Port Victoria town during the graduation ceremony for 178 youths from Budalangi constituency, Busia County, who had attended a six-week digital training program recently, Youth Affairs,
Sports and Arts Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba said the ministry has already trained about 3,000 youths from 25 counties.
He said his ministry has good plans for young people in Kenya targeting to train a total of 10,000 youths in all the 47 counties across the country on digital literacy and entrepreneurship.
About the program
“In this program, the youths are being trained on digital literacy and entrepreneurship so that they can be able to start and run businesses so that our young people are more than just job seekers, but creators of wealth,” said the CS.
Namwamba, at the same time, said the program would also go a long way in empowering the youth to actively engage in the creation of innovative ideas that would, apart from improving their livelihoods, also transform the community and the country at large.
The CS said the world has gone digital, a major reason as to why the ministry has effected the initiative to support the youths through the training.
That would enable them to seek clients online to buy their products online with ease.
He said the digital literacy program is part of the plan of the national government to create employment opportunities for the youth.
“The training is key because it will ensure the youths have money in their pocket. I am urging all the youths being targeted for the training to ensure they complete their training,” said Namwamba.
Online sales
Fauzia Athuman, one of the youths who had attended the six-week digital literacy training from mid-January 2023 upto the end of February 2023, said it enabled her to sell products online, unlike before when she used to move here and there in an effort to search for clients.
“Prior to the training, I had been undergoing a lot of challenges that involved traversing the entire Bunyala sub-county in search of clients. I am able to get clients online- thanks to the digital literacy training program,” said Fauzia.
She said she produces beaded wrist bangles and key holders, which she sells to her clients online.
“I also intend to set up a cyber cafe from where I will be able to access the website without having to spend a lot of money in terms of internet expenses,” she said.
The digital literacy graduand at the same time said she would use the knowledge she has gained to train fellow youths who did not attend the training program.
Impacted lives
Another graduate, Omari Onyango, said the training he had attended had enabled him to learn how to make cables through excel.
He, at the same time, said he had an opportunity to learn how to go about online job application, which he initially didn’t know how to do.
“I had learned a lot from the digital literacy training and am now enlightened as I can now do several things via the internet,” he said.
Huawei Deputy CEO, Government Affairs, Kenya, Adam Lane, said his organization, which has been in Kenya for 25 years, is committed to supporting the digital training program so that the youths can benefit from the power of technology.
“Digital technology will provide Kenyan youths with modern skills that would enable them to earn good money from their respective businesses,” he said.
Bring more
Youth Affairs Principal Secretary, Ismail Madey, congratulated the youths for successfully completing their training.
He urged them to utilize the basic skills they have acquired to set up digital hubs, which he emphasized would go a long way in opening for them the door to a better future.
“Share the basic skills gained with others so they can also be able to enjoy the fruits of the program,” he said.
He, at the same time, assured the youths that the national government will continue to support any program aimed at transforming their lives.
Very beneficial
Yeswa Johnston from the National Youth Council, in charge of ICT, said the council has been working hand in hand with Huawei in this training program in other counties to benefit the youths.
“I assure you that the training you have gone through will be of many benefits to you because this is a world of technology and everything is going digital. It’s upon you to take the knowledge you have gained and use it well,” he said.
Kevin Okubo, a senior manager at Kenya National Innovation Agency, said it was a great honor to commemorate the digitruck that has been set up in Budalangi. Digitruck is a computer-equipped vehicle offering a mobile computer system.
“We will ensure that all the youth centres, with the guidance of the PS and the CS, are operational. In this regard, I urge all trained youth to utilize the digital skills bagged to empower themselves and also bring on board others who don’t know about digitrack,” said the official.
Mr. Martin Edgar from Computers For Schools Kenya (CFSK) said that courtesy of all the like-minded partners, they have three mobile computer labs across the country in collaboration with Huawei, their key partner in the program.
According to him, this is impacting young people with digital, entrepreneurial, e-waste management skills and also computer hardware basics.
He said CFSK will continue to empower the youth.
“Being part of this milestone tells me that the young people will create opportunity for themselves so utilize the skills you have been given to market whatever product(s) that you have and more so to open other opportunities for the others,” he urged.
He, at the same time, said he has been doing a follow-up program in Machakos County for the last three years through the local leaders.
He organizes young people in groups, registering those groups as CBOs and empowering them to start small projects such as table banking and cyber cafes, among others.
He called upon the youths to form and register their groups, as that is the only way that will enable them to access funds from the government and establish income-generating activities of their choice.
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“Without working capital, you cannot set up any income generating activity. I am encouraging you to form and register your respective groups so you can be able to acquire loan facilities from the government,” he said.
