Helping young people in Mutonguni to achieve their dreams
by Helen, Keogh, CEO, World Vision Ireland
It’s always great to see a young person reach their potential; to witness their hard work being rewarded with success. It’s particularly special to me, when I see a young person who has the odds stacked against them, achieving their dreams.
Kevin Musyoka is one of these people. He was struggling to survive on low paid work in Nairobi before he heard World Vision were offering to support 300 orphaned and vulnerable children to learn a trade through a poverty prevention programme. He applied to a masonry course, was accepted and hasn’t looked back since. World Vision paid for his school fees, board at the school and found him a surrogate parent, who provided him with advice and emotional support throughout his course. When he graduated, he was presented with his own tool kit, so that he could start working in his trade immediately. When I met Kevin today, he was building a beautiful church with skill, precision and passion. He had already lined up his next contract and was building a home for himself in his rare spare time. He was also able to support the family he left behind in Nairobi and provide for their needs.
I also met Morris Musee, one of the amazing surrogate parents who support young men and women like Kevin. He told me that Kevin was one of the many success stories he had been privileged enough to witness since this programme began five years ago. He stressed that this programme had not only changed the lives of the young people involved but it had also had an immensely positive effect on the whole community. Young people, who may have ended up in trouble or may have spent their lives struggling to survive, now had a real future. And it wasn’t just about the fact that they now had enough money, it went much deeper than that. These young people, many of whom were orphaned by disease such as HIV/AIDS, many of whom had accepted that life did not have a lot to offer them, now had hope and now felt proud of their own achievements.
By supporting young men like Kevin we change not only their economic situation, and that of their community, but we, perhaps more importantly change their outlook on life. Making dreams they may never before have dared to dream before become realities.
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