A whole community, asset-based approach to rural youth development in Mugunda Ward, Kenya

• In Event: Tackling the skills gap: exploring Whole Youth Development as strategic contribution to sustainable youth futures in Kenya

Proposal

There is a need for policymakers and practitioners to develop a distinct strategy to foster economic opportunities for rural Kenyan youth as they transition from childhood to adulthood. This population lacks ample opportunities for education, productive employment and vocational training, often leading to mass urban migration in search of jobs and schooling. Especially in rural areas, youth tend to be treated as full adults expected to generate income at early ages, despite lacking the skills, maturity and networks necessary to do so. The challenges facing the current generation of rural Kenyan youth are compounded by the fact that agriculture is increasingly regarded as an unsustainable and/or undesirable career pathway. In community meetings and focus groups, many rural Kenyan youth have expressed a strong propensity to remain in their rural homes if expanded opportunities for advancement can be provided.

To understand how the existing community assets (including economic, social and human assets) could be used to enhance community resilience for the support of youth in rural spaces, Columbia University is partnering with ZiziAfrique to conduct a deep-dive evidence-driven initiative in Mugunda ward in Nyeri county, Kenya. Mugunda has close to 25,000 residents, in an environment categorized as semi-arid, where water and other resources are scarce. Despite these challenges, the community has a history of mobilization, including around HIV/AIDS education and services, table banking and recent efforts to build a sports center with an Olympic-sized track.

Launched in August 2018, the approach is participatory. Engagement and contributions from the community members are central pillars of the initiative. The initiative is intended to serve as a mechanism for assessing and addressing youth concerns within a single locality, with an emphasis on harnessing existing assets and homegrown solutions. Prior to conducting any formal research activities, the team introduced the project through a series of stakeholder meetings with local youth, religious leaders and administrators. In addition, 14 youth from Mugunda ward were recruited to serve as community mobilizers. The mobilizers were trained in community asset mapping methodology, including appreciative interviewing, positive deviance, capacity inventories of individual skills, and mapping of physical and natural resources, institutions, groups and associations. The mobilizers are currently implementing these mapping exercises and analysis and reporting will be completed by end of the year.

To complement the asset mapping process with representative data, a household survey of 330 youth aged 15-25 years will be conducted in November 2018. Participants will be recruited through a multi-stage sampling method. First, thirty clusters within the ward will be selected via probability-proportionate-to-size (PPS) sampling. Second, a listing exercise will be conducted to identify youth aged 15-25 year in the selected clusters. Finally, using systematic random sampling, 11 youth will be chosen for interviews in each cluster. The survey includes questions about respondents’ demographics, educational background, career aspirations, capabilities and values, and knowledge of local programming.

Qualitative findings from the asset mapping and quantitative findings from the household survey will be analyzed jointly and triangulated. Results and conclusions will be available prior to the CIES conference paper submission deadline.

Authors

• Neil Boothby, Columbia University

• Beth L Rubenstein, Columbia University, Earth Institute

• Samuel Mukundi, Logos Consult

• John Kabutha Mugo, ZiziAfrique Foundation