Children and Youth Living on the Streets of Nairobi to Address Key Stakeholders on Important Issues

14 October 2008: This week dozens of young people who are currently living and/or working on the streets will participate in a forum to discuss issues affecting their lives with key stakeholders. The children and youth are members of Undugu Society of Kenya’s Children and Youth Street Associations . USK has helped establish nearly 50 groups of children and youth living and/or working on the streets in order for them to transform the culture of streetism and improve their lives. The theme of the forum is “Transformation in Action: From the Streets to the Microphone,” emphasizing the key objective of the event, which is to raise the childrens’ and youths’ voices and empower them to play a part in the debate surrounding important issues. The issues these young people will focus on include police and city council harassment, drug abuse, environmental degradation and sexual abuse. They will also speak about how these issues are challenges to their successful integration in USK’s street association model and thus an impediment to improving and transforming their lives They will voice their opinions on these issues to state and non-state stakeholders such as the police department, government ministries, and NGOs, who will have a chance to respond to their concerns and participate in developing a concrete way forward. A young person belonging to one of USK's Street Associations will deliver the key note address during this event. Additionally, the forum will also serve to introduce the new Digital Storytelling Project run by USK, in collaboration with The Advocacy Project . Since June, over a dozen children and youth have been trained how to use blogs and photographs to express themselves on key issues which are then posted on the Internet. This project will be formally launched at this forum and selected blogs will be shared and the students’ best photographs will be displayed and auctioned. 90% of the proceeds will go to the students while 10% of the proceeds will go to USK to ensure continuity of the project. The event will take place on Wednesday, 15th October 2008 at the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) commencing 8:30am to 1.00pm.