Dream Makers

About the programme:

YSD has partnered up with the Firelight Foundation for the Youth Resiliency and Belonging project. The goal of this project is to enhance YSD’s ability to understand and implement youth protection concepts, systems thinking, and participatory methodologies, including participatory learning and planning.

YSD regularly engages with communities and local governments through consultations to uncover existing knowledge and practices that support youth resiliency and a sense of belonging. These discussions also identify priority issues that hinder these aspects. YSD then works on planning and testing actions and solutions to address these priority issues.

Employing the Community Driven Systems Change Approach, YSD is executing The Dream Makers Programme. This youth mentorship program focuses on equipping young people with soft and digital skills, providing one-on-one mentorship, linking them to opportunities, and facilitating attachments. YSD is also strengthening partnerships to foster holistic development, learning, resilience, identity, belonging, and purpose among the youth in the Machakos sub-county.

Together with community stakeholders in Machakos, a youth mentorship program has been co-developed to enhance knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to entrepreneurship and employability among the youth. Acting as a community catalyst, YSD is reinforcing existing systems, processes, and advocating for policies to ensure program efficiency and sustainable budgeting even after the initiative led by YSD concludes. Through the project, there is increased access to youth-friendly services provided by the community systems available within Machakos sub-county.

Project Outcomes:

  1. Communities, supported by community-based organisations, have and use the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and tools they need to foster holistic development, learning, resiliency, identity, belonging, and purpose among their youth.
  2. Youth feel a sense of belonging and identity, feel they have purpose in their lives, and demonstrate resilience in face of challenges.
  3. Youth have and use the knowledge, skills, attitudes, tools, social capital, networks, and opportunities they need to strengthen their socio-emotional, physical, cognitive, and economic health now and in the long-term. 

If you would like to find out more, and sign up to enrol onto the next cohort, please click the link below!

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