Quarterly Report (July 1st – September 30th, 2009)

The project is being implemented with $2,000,000 in financial support from USAID. The goal of this project is to empower urban youth in Garissa between the ages of 16-24 to make sound career and life decisions as they transit from high school to the next phase of their lives. The project aims to constructively engage 1,600 Garissa youth in career development, livelihood, and civic participation activities. This will be achieved through the establishment of a Youth Resource Center that provides career development support and access to livelihood opportunities for Garissa youth. The project also seeks to increase the number of Garissa youth pursuing a technical education at the North East Province Technical Training Institute (NEP TTI) as a viable alternative to formal university education. The project has made significant progress in the first quarter of its implementation. Newly recruited staff reported for duty on July 1, 2009, and the Project Director and Deputy Director attended the EDC's Annual Chief of Party Summit in Washington, D.C. The remainder of the month was focused on start-up activities related to the procurement of furniture and equipment, relationship development, systems development, and the opening of project accounts. In August, the project engaged with Garissa youth and local community members to understand project objectives. Time was also spent formulating the implementation plan for the project's service delivery. The Garissa Agricultural Show was held in August, and the project took advantage of the event to conduct marketing and outreach to youth and the general public in Garissa. Approximately 17,000 people attended the show, and the project stand was hosted by the North Eastern Province Technical Training Institute (NEP TTI). The project also participated in the National Youth Week activities in Garissa, between August 10th and 15th, 2009. The project used this event to conduct outreach to the youth of Garissa's urban district. The activities included the planting of trees at schools and a dialogue session with youth leaders. The project also organized a football match to mark the National Youth Week, which attracted a large crowd of 500 youth. The Out-of-School Youth Work Readiness program is G-Youth's key intervention for Garissa's out-of-school youth. The program consists of five weeks of work preparedness for high school graduates who are jobless and idle. A consultant was hired to provide technical inputs on the pedagogical components of the program. The consultant traveled to Garissa at the end of September to help with the finalization of the curriculum and prepare for the Training of Trainers. The project has also made significant progress in the area of project operations and administration. The project lost two staff members, the Finance and Grants Manager and the Accountant, and focused on recruiting for these positions during the quarter. The EDC regional office in Nairobi provided financial oversight to the Deputy Project Director, Senior Admin, and Human Resource Officer, who took on additional financial management responsibilities during the quarter. The Project Advisory Committee (PAC) was constituted in June 2009 and held regular monthly meetings during the quarter. Mr. Abdi G. Barre was elected as the Chairman of PAC. EDC's International Project Coordinator, Nancy Meaker, undertook a TDY to Kenya to assist the G-Youth field team with the development of the Out-of-School Youth Work Readiness program curriculum.