Mombasa Deputy Governor
Francis Thoya, Elimu Scheme CEO Jamal Ali and KCB
Mvita branch manager Anthony Tumuti (second right) at Laohana Hall in Mombasa
on Thursday /BRIAN OTIENO
Mombasa county
education executive Mbwarali Kame and Deputy Governor Francis Thoya at Laohana
Hall in Mombasa on Thursday /BRIAN OTIENO
Fred Oduor shows
Mombasa Deputy Governor Francis Thoya the skills he has acquired due to the Tujiajiri
Programme at Lohana Hall in Mombasa on Thursday / BRIAN OTIENO
Fred Oduor believes he would have turned into a thug had he not got an opportunity to train for the career he always wanted.
He had wished to be a mechanic but had no way to pay for the course.
“I was idle at home
and sometimes bad thoughts came in. But when I saw the Mombasa county government
and KCB Foundation sponsorship programme, I applied and by God’s grace I was
selected,” he says.
He is at St Mulumba
Technical Vocational College in Mikidani, Jomvu subcounty.
“Mechanics was the
passion I always had. I am glad I got an opportunity to study my passion when
all seemed lost,” he says.
He called on the youth
to acquire skills.
Hafsa Breik, who
studies graphic design at Ujuzi Institute of Career Development, says she wants
to be the top graphic designer in the country.
Breik says the
scholarship motivates those who had given up in life for various reasons
including lack of school fees.
The two are part of
736 beneficiaries of the Sh40 million Tujiajiri Programme by the Mombasa county
government in partnership with KCB Foundation.
Mombasa youth are trained at vocational
institutes and colleges free of charge.
Deputy Governor Francis Thoya said the county and KCB Foundation have each invested Sh20 million.
“The county has
already invested our part. It is already working and learners are in class. Today,
we had come to launch the KCB Foundation’s end of the bargain,” Thoya said on
Thursday at Lohana Hall.
“The biggest
problem in Mombasa today is many youths have completed school but lack the skills
required in the job market.”
He said jobs like
plumbing require certificates even though the requisite skills may be
there.
“You cannot be
hired by a serious company if you don’t have the papers. You may know the work
but how will you prove that you actually have the skills?” Thoya posed.
He said the main aim
of the Tujiajiri is to equip the youth with skills and the requisite certificates
to help them acquire jobs both within the country and abroad.
The programme
will in the next fiscal year be expanded to include 1,500 youths.
He said more resources
will be channeled towards vocational institutions to ensure the programme helps
more youths.
Mombasa county
education executive Mbwarali Kame said through the Elimu Scheme, most youth who
have skills but lack the requisite certification are taken through the official
classwork so as to get the certificates.
“The main target of
the Tujiajiri Programme are those who have completed Form 4 or Class 8 but
could not go to college or university,” Kame said.
All colleges
in Mombasa, including private ones, have been engaged to take in the youth
under Tujiajiri Programme.
“All six
subcounties have institutions identified to accommodate these youth that
qualify for the Tujiajiri Programme,” Kame said.
“Mombasa count has
many youth who have no skills. That is why we have partnered with the county to
retool, reskill and upgrade youth in Mombasa county,” KCB Mvita branch
manager Anthony Tumuti said.
Elimu Scheme CEO Jamal
Ali said the partnership with KCB Foundation marks a great step towards improving
the economy of Mombasa.
He said those who
applied for the sponsorship in Mombasa were more than 2,000 but only 736 got
the opportunity.
