MCA’s initiative gives young mothers a second chance

Free skills training in Mombasa’s Mjambere ward is helping young mothers and unemployed youth rebuild their lives.

by BRIAN OTIENO

Coast17 December 2025 - 08:22

In Summary

A community-led skills programme in Mombasa’s Mjambere ward is empowering young mothers and unemployed youth with vocational training to become self-reliant.
The initiative is helping curb idleness, early pregnancies and crime by giving beneficiaries practical skills and renewed hope for the future.

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Maimuna Adam was a housewife, taking care of her three children. But she was “idle and vulnerable to many temptations”.

That was before she joined the short skills courses sponsored by the Amriya Foundation.

Adam is one of 85 beneficiaries who graduated on Saturday after undertaking a beauty and make-up course and is now a make-up artist.

“When this initiative came, it was some kind of a relief because I got something to look forward to and I can now make something out of my life,” Adam said.

Most of the youth in Mjambere ward in Kisauni have no employment, which makes them vulnerable.

“With the skills earned after these short courses, we can be entrepreneurial and start our own businesses,” Adam said.

She plans to open a salon to empower herself and other young girls, especially young mothers, who see no hope in their life.

Hairun Aboud, another beneficiary, also took a course in beauty and make-up, which has been her passion since she was young.

“I am not a single mother, but a Form Four dropout. I was just sitting at home trying to figure out what to do with my life when I heard about this initiative and I decided to join,” Aboud said.

She called on other youth to join the initiative.

The organisation’s boss, Amriya Boy, who is also the Mjambere MCA, said skills cannot be discarded.

“Once you have skills, you have power and riches,” Boy said.

This was the second cohort of 85 out of 100 underprivileged girls to find a second chance in life by gaining skills to make them employable or entrepreneurial.

Earlier this year, 100 girls were selected for the course and about 50 graduated.

The MCA said the short courses have helped prevent early and unwanted pregnancies, contracting venereal diseases, muguka chewing and other vices due to idleness.

Among the 85 who graduated on Saturday are five young mothers.

“We have removed them from despair. They now see light at the end of the tunnel. The courses are free of charge. Their only task is to buy a uniform,” Boy said.

The courses take approximately four months, with three months of study and one for exams.

There are two cohorts a year.

The boy said the programme does not exclude the boy child, who are catered for in different courses such as driving, welding and plumbing.

“We have also organised sports tournaments for them which help them not stay idle in maskani,” Boy said.

Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir stated that unemployment has been a significant challenge for the youth of Mombasa.

He said that unemployability has been a major factor in youth remaining jobless.

“But when you are empowered with skills like this, then you are sorted in life,” Nassir said.

He said the No Child Left Behind programme, which ensures that all children go to school regardless of their background, is also meant to ensure education and skills are accessible to all children.

The Skills Mitaani programme, which is run by the county and is similar to Boy’s initiative, also seeks to empower Mombasa youth.

The county programme ensures youth who may have dropped out of school or did not qualify for university also get a chance to acquire skills through vocational institutions, sponsored by the government.

So far, more than 1,000 Mombasa youth have benefited from the initiative.

Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba lauded Boy, saying giving skills to someone is the ultimate help one can give.

He said Kisauni is the biggest and most populated constituency in Mombasa, which has experienced the negative side of idleness and unemployment.

Kisauni has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, including machete-wielding youth who attack and rob people, especially during celebrations.

“I am ready to help you rent shops so you can set up your businesses there and start earning after acquiring these skills.

“Group yourselves and look for stalls; I will pay the rent for you,” Bedzimba said.

He also pledged to buy them equipment.