The Government has launched a skills development and livelihood programme targeting 450 vulnerable youth and women in Nairobi, Kilifi, Kisumu, Isiolo and Samburu counties as part of efforts to strengthen community resilience and prevent violent extremism.
The initiative, implemented under the Building Resilience and Community Empowerment for Peace (BRACE4PEACE) Programme, will provide 90 participants from each county with practical, market-oriented training to improve employability, entrepreneurship and income generation.
The training will be tailored to the economic potential of each county, including digital solutions and ICT in Nairobi, coastal tourism in Kilifi, cage aquaculture in Kisumu, and beekeeping, beadwork and handicrafts in Isiolo and Samburu.
Speaking during the Fifth Programme Steering Committee meeting of the Peacebuilding and Preventing Violent Extremism in East Africa Programme, Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration Raymond Omollo said sustainable peace required addressing the social and economic conditions that make communities vulnerable to crime and violent extremism.
“The focus is on strengthening community resilience, promoting social cohesion and expanding economic opportunities,” Omollo said.
He said the Government would work with county governments and partners to connect beneficiaries to financing, markets, mentorship, business licences and other enterprise development opportunities.
Omollo said the initiative was part of a broader prevention strategy aimed at giving vulnerable young people credible alternatives to exploitation by criminal and extremist networks.
He called for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach involving national and county governments, community and religious leaders, civil society, development partners, the private sector and young people.
The BRACE4PEACE programme brings together the Government of Kenya, the Government of the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), technical and vocational training institutions and peacebuilding partners.
