Project overview

• Roddy’s Eco-Cover is a community-based organization founded in 2011 to champion environmental awareness with forestry as key concern
• The project was established by members of the local community with the aim of empowerment for the less fortunate members in the quest to tackle development challenges at the grassroots.
• Its major focus is on environmental concern to mitigate the effects of climate change and foster inter-cultural education among the local community
• The project is located at Ebuyangu village in Emuhaya constituency in Vihiga country that is situated in Western Kenya
• It is situated 430 Kilometers away from Nairobi city and its located in an area that is famed for cultural diversity due to the high population density
• The volunteers will be hosted in a homestead to experience cultural diversity and learn to live and interact with members of the host community in an atmosphere of cooperation and solidarity
• This project has hosted previously both local and international volunteers and it has great potential for the replication of its activities in equally challenging circumstances in other regions of Kenya

AGE: Volunteers have to be at least 18 years old to participate in the work camp. There is no upper age limit

TYPE OF WORK CAMP: STUDY/ENVI

Manual work and Intercultural activities:

• Manual work and intercultural activities
• Agro forestry that will include tree planting
• Preparation of tree nurseries and weeding
• Land scaping and tending to bamboo trees in the natural habitat
• Cleanup activities
• Naming of trees
• Home visits
• Inter-cultural learning coupled with home visits for exposure to development challenges.
• Possibility to visit the historic sites like Hippo point on Lake Victoria in Kisumu City, renowned Kakamega Rain Forest and the Equator point at Maseno University; among other spectacular sites of interest in the region. However, this will be done most probably during the weekends.

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS: Maximum 20 volunteers from Kenya and the international community

What to carry?

This is outlined in the detailed info sheet and includes, sleeping bag and mat, toiletries, torch/flashlight, sandals, mosquito net, national flag from your country, among others

DONATION AND GIFTS:

These are usually symbolic gestures to enhance the solidarity of volunteers and the hosting community. Kindly contact KVDA for details in case you are willing to support a worthy cause in the community either by offering a donation or long-term intervention on the project.

THEME: Youth Entrepreneurship and Leadership Development

Description of the Problem/Challenges

Challenges Facing Youth in Kenya: Below are some risk factors that affect entrepreneurship development in particular:

Rites of Passage: The absence of rites of passage means that youth are no longer well prepared for adulthood by the traditional means of providing youth with mentors who give them advice to equip them for adulthood;

Education: Suitability of education/vocational training for the labor market. There is limited access to secondary schools and alternative forms of education are lacking. There is also a need for life skills training in the education curriculum. At present, students are trained just to pass exams;

Inequality/regional disparity: There is inequality in many fields, and often this has a regional aspect. Youth in certain geographical regions are marginalized, with restricted access to opportunities that are available to other young persons. In
urban areas, poor youth and those living in slum areas have severely limited access to services and opportunities;

Society’s attitude towards youth: Youth face discrimination purely on the grounds of age. This is legitimatized by beliefs such as wisdom only comes with age, and that youth is merely a transition period. Society also perceives youth as irresponsible and troublemakers. This perception may contribute to difficulty in obtaining credit;

Expectations of youth: Society’s expectations of young people are not very clear. A gap in expectations has opened between what parents and older generations expect of youth on the one hand, and the expectations of youth themselves (influenced by their peers, and the media, etc.). Society’s expectations of youth may overshadow personal expectations and overwhelm youth. There is also an assumption that white-collar jobs are best and little encouragement is offered to youth to take up blue-collar jobs;

Displacement: Especially in slum areas, the demolition of homes has displaced many youths. Others were rendered homeless by the politically inspired ethnic clashes around election time in the 1990s. Homes on proposed road routes, close to power lines and railway tracks are being demolished. The social consequences, both short and long term, of such displacement are severe;

Policies: Gaps in, and unsuitability of, existing policy can be cited, along with important problems of implementation. Absence of youth participation in actual decision-making or implementation of policies affecting them was also cited. Youth are merely used as tokens in the policy formulation process;

Corruption: Corruption can be cited as one of the major risk factors affecting youth. It results in unequal access to resources. It is especially cited as a problem when youth are trying to establish businesses. Those who lack money to bribe have difficulty in getting assistance to set up their businesses;

Transition: Kenya is undergoing transition in many areas and this affects youth particularly. For example, there is a transition from an agrarian to an information based society, yet knowledge is not keeping up with the changes. Changes in social expectations are also resulting in confusion. Children are obliged to take on the roles of adults when households are decimated by HIV/AIDS. The influence and support of the extended family is also declining;

Choice of Role Models: Negative role models tend to be elevated. There is a dearth of positive models for leadership roles, exacerbated by the negative and corrupt image of leaders projected by the media. Parents, too, may often present negative role models in alcoholism and violence. The media glorifies negative role models, such as drug barons and advertisements for alcohol glamorize risky behavior.

Orientation: Will be done on 10^th July 2021 at KVDA Residence in Nairobi and the team will leave for the project on the morning of 11^th July 2021