Fourth Quarterly Report: Yes Youth Can! - Rift Valley (YYC-RV) Program

– Rift Valley (YYC-RV) program was launched on March 6, 2011, with the goal of empowering youth in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. The program's first year of implementation has seen significant progress towards achieving its objectives. Under objective 1, which focuses on youth participation and leadership, the program has reached 285,907 youths, bringing the cumulative number of all the youths reached to 367,810. Additionally, 1,140 Youth Bunges have been formed, bringing the cumulative number to 3,603. The registration process for the program became easier after meetings were held to explain the benefits of the program to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development (MoGCSD) and other stakeholders. This quarter, 896 Youth Bunges received mentoring on advocacy, resource mapping, and resource mobilization. Furthermore, 8 Bunges completed community service projects, and 21 Bunges engaged in 13 total advocacy projects. The program also launched 5 County Youth Bunge Forums this quarter, which brought together youths from different village Bunges. The forums were attended by government officials, elders, and opinion leaders, giving the youth confidence in the program. The elected county board members were also engaged in trainings to enhance their capacities to carry out their roles. Under objective 2, which focuses on increasing youth productivity, employment opportunities, and income, the program has achieved its targets of training 866 Bunges and 7,537 youths. The program has also continued to disseminate the findings of the Labor Market Assessment Report. Negotiations with employers for apprenticeships started this quarter, with 56 employers meeting with Mercy Corps representatives. Seven employers have already agreed to take up apprentices, and 31 youth have been placed under apprenticeship. Under objective 3, which focuses on gender empowerment, the program organized 9 outreach campaigns reaching out to 1,344 girls. The program also conducted a gender assessment, which engaged 16 enumerators and 240 youths. Mentorship sessions under this objective began in February and have reached 400 girls, discussing topics such as women and leadership, roles of women in the community, and women's rights. The program has devised strategies to empower the youth with knowledge and information on civic issues, given the current political situation in the country. In the next quarter, the program plans to train board members and more youth on nonviolent conflict mitigation methods and the ongoing reforms, as well as good leadership, democracy, and governance. The program will also issue more community service grants and support youth-led advocacy. Under economic empowerment, the program will continue with VSL trainings and issuance of enterprise grants for youth empowerment. Finally, under the gender component, the program will emphasize mentorship of girls on leadership and outreach campaigns.