Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid (R ) with Mombasa Deputy Governor Doctor William Kingi (L ) during the launch of a youth expedition program at the Haki Africa offices in Mombasa. [Photo/Maxwell].
The recently launched ‘Amani mashinani’ program by human rights lobby Haki Africa will enable youth in Mombasa focus more on building their future.
The program is mainly geared towards improving lives of youths, making them use the already existing opportunities as well as establish new economic livelihood opportunities for the youths.
Speaking at the Haki Africa offices in Mombasa on Wednesday, Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid said that the program was launched after it emerged that most young people in Mombasa were engaging in social vices which have negatively affected them and the society at large.
Hussein said that the program which engages youth in various expeditions, sports activities, economic and peace programs in the community has brought together over 1,300 youth in all the six constituencies in Mombasa who will also act as ambassadors of change in the whole County.
He said the program is being conducted in Mombasa in its first phase but will be expanded to the other remaining counties of Taita Taveta, Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu.
“Under this program, youth are provided with diaries and allocated mentors who will be monitoring their daily activities which they will fill in the diaries and the mentors later go through them”. He added.
He added, “Of course you cannot go ahead and report in your diary that you committed crime last night at your home area or you violated someone’s rights or even engaged in gender-based violence, this has forced many youths in our program to be very responsible and the results are very encouraging” he noted.
The Haki Africa Executive Director called said that the program picked youth from areas affected by insecurity in its first phase among them Likoni, Kisauni and within Mvita constituency so that they are directly engaged in important activities communal.
The program is funded by the Swedish Embassy among other partners.