By: Stanley Mburu, Jane Wairutu, Judy Cherop and Jackie Waithaka, SDI-Kenya.

Youth Inclusion Background.

Inclusion of the youth in decision-making still remains a hard nut to crack. As a result, dissolution is many a times witnessed amongst the youth. Modelling inclusive participation of the youth sets the pace in enabling them to be effective drivers of change. The Federation's Youth Inclusion program aimed to support the development and implementation of a framework for youth participation in SDI’s federation governance structures and boost youth engagement within the network. Additionally, the program aimed at facilitating the development of affiliate-level youth programming and policy processes and strengthen local civil society to advance local and national development, ultimately achieving the vision of the youth: "A strong and inclusive youth movement that drives change and development in our communities”.

We Are The Majority

Young people make up to 80% of the population of people living in informal settlements. About 96% are tenants as documented by Muungano wa Wanavijiji, begging the question, in whose space should the youth be included? As the youth population dominates, supporting inclusion of youth through creating spaces for their active participation remains essential.

The lack of inclusion of young people has contributed immensely to urban fragility. Youth often lack opportunities to participate in decision-making. They additionally face various economic challenges and lack of opportunities to design and develop their initiatives that will aid them to address their immediate needs.

Community Youth-led Action Research: Photovoice

Muungano wa Wanavijiji has consistently embraced a community-led approach in its work. This is demonstrated through the federation's existing model that provides an opportunity for the community to take the lead in its processes. Community/federations participate in designing their activities and in decision-making by weighing in their voices on the various interventions and community processes such as research.

Photovoice is a qualitative research method where the co-researchers take photos depicting challenges, barriers, and opportunities present in a community. The co-researchers also select pictures for presentation at a community forum and share reflections justifying reasons behind the selection of the photos. This research technique allowed the youth to unpack their challenges which include challenges in accessing economic empowerment opportunities and funding opportunities, lack of inclusion in decision-making within their settlements among others. Youth later shared possible solutions behind the identified challenges. The exercise enhanced youth engagement within the federation through their participation in the research.

Findings from the photovoice research later formed a basis for discussions at the community level by youth and the community at large through the federation’s support. Through the platform, youth analyzed the main challenges and upon consolidation of all the challenges identified through the participatory research, they devised concrete actions to address the most pressing.

Roll out of the participatory research tool through the Youth Inclusion program additionally presented an opportunity for overall youth participation within the 6 settlements, scaling up youth engagement within the movement. Involvement of the youth within the federation in activities such as research fundamentally strengthens youth voices within the movement. This is a core factor in enabling and driving the desired change.

Youth Patronization

The real force behind the all-in support of the youth is aided by what the young people have proven to innovate, achieve and have shown the long-term sustenance of their initiatives and hustle.

Some of the initiatives youth have started through mobilizing fellow youth and organizing self-help groups are urban farming, environmental conservation, sexual health initiatives etc.

Youth claiming they lack economic support has remained a challenge predominantly. Engagements organized through the federation’s youth program: Safe and Inclusive Cities also revealed this as a constant challenge facing the youth. The youth Inclusion Program therefore sought to focus on this need and create a foundation for a sustainable future for the young people.

The program made use of the photo voice research methodology that provided an opportunity for the youth to document their realities through photography and share their findings in community dialogues and an exhibition forum as they engaged in meaningful discussions that revealed existing challenges and their possible solutions. From the findings derived from the photo voice research process, it was clear, youth had the determination, evident through efforts they directed towards forming self-help groups and pursuing other their various ventures. The federation thereby sought to support young people by designing a tool calling out groups to apply to qualify for funding.

Over 70 groups from Nairobi and Kisumu applied seeking financial support for their groups’ initiatives. The program targeted eight settlements from which some of these groups are based. Other groups located in various areas other than the eight targeted settlements applied, although the granting criteria prioritized the targeted settlements. 14 groups received a grant of Kenya shillings 815,000 on 14th of July 2022.

So how does the support foster youth development in the lives of young people and their communities in general? This is informed by how the youth utilize the support and from it, derive a sustainable initiative or further strengthen their existing ventures for decades to come.

Currently, empowering spaces for the youth are emerging and through active participation, young people are empowered to play a vital role in their development as well as that of their communities. Young people have made connections with the world and gradually have become the face of the future. Therefore there's a need to acknowledge young people. There's a need to support them as they are a reflection of a promising tomorrow.

Exchanges and Exhibition

Pictures obtained from the photovoice research process were selected for an exhibition. Youth from Mathare, Mukuru, Huruma, and Kibera organized a photo exhibition to showcase the various art pieces that they had put together. The forum was driven by the need to increase and promote meaningful community discussions at the grassroots level. The youth produced powerful pictures that bore different messages. The community interacted with the art pieces, and each piece brought to the fore a variety of themes sparking meaningful conversations on the various community issues brought out by each picture. i.e.; access to decent housing, access to public spaces for communal use, access to proper infrastructure, etc. The exhibition brought together youth from the various communities creating an opportunity for a collective youth exchange. Through the forum, the young people derived several thematic areas including health services, proper housing, public spaces, proper infrastructure, and climate action.

Exchanges are Muungano's most important learning strategy. The strategy is built on the logic 'doing is knowing’, in this way, communities can influence change within settlements. Through the Youth Inclusion program, the Federation also facilitated an inter-settlement exchange creating an opportunity for youth in Mathare to learn from the federation's community-led Mukuru SPA process. The Mukuru SPA process has drawn interest from state and non-state actors as it sets in motion one of the biggest informal settlement upgrading projects- ever. The exchange provided a platform for learning from the SPA process, a precedent-setting opportunity for participatory upgrading.

Through Mathare Special Planning Area Research Collective (MSPARC) process, youth in Mathare and the community at large, aim to bring about community-centered planning and upgrading approach in Mathare as inspired by the process in Mukuru.

In efforts to support the meaningful participation of youth, the SDI network organized a youth summit creating an opportunity for young people to attend and participate in designing a framework aimed at guiding the affiliates and the secretariat in its quest to ensure its programming is youth-led. During the conference, a framework was generated and a steering committee was appointed. This comprised of some youth representatives also included within the national federation leadership.

Awarding of Groups.

Findings curated from the photo voice research process also revealed different actions implemented by youth individually and within their groups to improve their communities and enable them to access the opportunities they desire. Based on this, the federation designed a tool that aimed to invite potential groups to apply for financial support. The tool is designed to facilitate easy application even by hard-to-reach groups.

Hard-to-reach groups are recognized as those that are typically under-represented in the various community participation or development processes. These groups are also notably excluded from funding opportunities. These groups may be impossible to engage with because they do not feel empowered enough, or due to barriers that can be overcome.

The call for funds was open for approximately one week from July 1st to July 7th and a total of 78 groups from both Kisumu and Nairobi applied for the support. To ensure the process was facile, the federation set the criteria used in shortlisting. The key considerations in the shortlisting process included: the group should have participated in the Safe and Inclusive Cities Project (SAIC), the group should be active, and have an income-generating activity they are looking to scale up. Most groups were excluded due to the project's defined scope. Ultimately, 14 youth groups based within the project's defined scope qualified and received support.

Upon receiving the funds the groups embarked on putting the resources to use by purchasing the equipment and materials they required.

Below are success stories from some of the groups that received the support.