Jitume digital hub helps Mvita youth get income

James Karisa, alias Kashataman, at RG Ngala Hall on Friday /BRIAN OTIENO

James Karisa was given the nickname Kashataman because he sells kashata (coconut brittle/candy), a Swahili confectionery snack, made from ingredients like coconut, peanuts, or both, often flavoured with spices such as cinnamon or cardamom.

He used to sell his confectionery on the move, walking long distances to specific areas targeting school children and other people in public places.

But that did not guarantee sales.

“I could walk all the way to a specific place and then get no customer for my snack. I then had to walk back home empty-handed, tired, hungry and angry,” Karisa said.

However, he now no longer has to walk long distances. Instead, he gets calls and when he does, it is for delivery meaning he is assured of pay.

This is thanks to digital skills he acquired at the Mvita Jitume Digital Hub at the Ronald Ngala Social Hall. 

“It has made my work easier. I now get clients who call me and I deliver to them. I no longer have to walk long distance on guesswork,” Karisa said.

He gets orders to supply to shops because he has been marketing his snack online, after acquiring the digital skills following a two-month course at the Mvita Digital Hub.

“My fellow youth, let no one tell you there is no work. You just need to be a little more creative,” Karisa said.

He spoke on Friday during the graduation ceremony of 634 youth who got certificates for completing their various digital skills courses at the hub.

The Mvita Jitume Digital Hub has been hailed as one of the transformative projects that has empowered youth financially and informatively as more than 200 have now secured income sources.

The digital hub is one of less than 10 in the country that are active.

This milestone underscored the continued commitment to empowering constituents with vital digital skills, paving the way for innovation, employment and entrepreneurship in the digital economy.

The hub is a partnership with the national government and other partners like National Bank, Ajira Digital, among other entities.

“We want to hear those testimonies of what you are doing with what you have acquired with this place,” National Bank’s John Bwire said.

“How many have got this opportunity to get digital skills free of charge?”

Bwire said the Mvita youth have advantages over other youth through the skill they have gained.

“It is only you and the skills that you have acquired, which stands between you and your success,” he said.

Mvita MP Mohamed Machele said the digital hub is realising the dreams he had since he took interest in empowering the youth.

He said the testimonials from the beneficiaries of the digital hub remind him of his youthful days when he almost gave up after failing to secure a job before starting his own business.

“When I finished Form 4, I managed to secure only odd jobs including being employed as a shopkeeper, a sweeper, selling airtime, among other things that I wrongly thought I should not be proud of.

“Today, I am an MP. The most important thing I was told is to remain disciplined no matter the hardships I go through or the successes I encounter,” Machele said on Friday.

Youth mentor Mahmoud Noor said youth in Mvita are lucky to have an active digital hub, one of less than 10 across the country.

“We have more than 290 MPs. Go do your research, among the MPs, how many have such a hub active and running today. You will find it is less than 10,” he said.