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Youth Employment and Skills Development
Working alongside the Miami Florida Youth Group in Mathare, Nairobi to build practical skills, steady livelihoods and a safer neighbourhood for children and young people.
Through teamwork and determination, young people in Mathare are turning urban farming, waste recycling, creative arts and vocational training into positive livelihoods and community care.
About the Miami Florida Youth Group partnership
To empower young people, children and women in Mathare through practical skills development, income generating activities and community initiatives that promote self reliance, neighbourhood safety and sustainable livelihoods.
The Miami Florida Youth Group is a registered community based organisation founded and run by young people living in Mathare, Nairobi. Faced with high youth unemployment, crowded living conditions, and the everyday pull of crime and negative influences, these young leaders chose to take ownership of their neighbourhood. Rather than waiting for external interventions, they came together to create practical opportunities for themselves, safe creative outlets for children, and productive community spaces along the Mathare river valley.
Through daily teamwork, the group runs hands on activities that touch many parts of neighbourhood life. They gather plastic waste, scrap metal, and recyclable materials to sell, turning community clean ups into modest daily income. Along the riverbank, they established an urban kitchen farm, clearing degraded land to grow fresh spinach, kales, and traditional vegetables for member households and neighbouring families. Every week, they also host creative drawing sessions and free porridge for neighbourhood children, providing nourishment, mentorship, and a safe, joyful environment away from street risks.
ABWA has partnered with the Miami Florida Youth Group as an active community partner, providing institutional accompaniment, linkage to international volunteers including visiting teams through Voltra Hong Kong, and joint fundraising to establish a permanent Community Training Centre. Our shared aim is to help the group move from informal survival initiatives to sustainable, well equipped, community owned enterprises that offer accredited training, dignified jobs, and lifelong alternatives to young people in Mathare.
Progress on the ground and current challenges
Real milestones achieved by the Miami Florida Youth Group alongside the ongoing obstacles we are working together to overcome.
Community action and partner support
- Registered community group: Fully formalised as a registered Community Based Organisation in Mathare, led by local youth.
- Waste recycling enterprise: Regular collection and sorting of plastic and scrap metal, generating modest daily income for youth members.
- Urban kitchen garden: Cleared and cultivated riverbank land to grow fresh spinach, kales, and vegetables for community food security.
- Children's art and porridge club: Weekly sessions offering art classes, mentorship, and nutritious porridge to over 50 neighbourhood children.
- International volunteer exchange: Hosted international volunteers in partnership with Voltra Hong Kong, facilitating cultural exchange and joint community work.
Challenges the group faces today
- Lack of a permanent facility: Current activities operate in open, rented, or temporary spaces that are vulnerable to weather, insecurity, and displacement.
- Equipment shortages: Need modern tools for waste recycling, kitchen garden irrigation, welding, woodworking, and digital training.
- Limited working capital: High demand from local youth for apprenticeships and training, but restricted financial resources to purchase materials.
- High local youth vulnerability: Persistent risks from crime, substance abuse, and unemployment that require expanded, year round community programmes.
What this programme sets out to do
Clear, participatory priorities established together with community partners and local groups.
Provide practical vocational and technical training for at least 100 young people annually in high demand trades.
Establish a fully equipped, permanent Community Training Centre in Mathare to host vocational courses, workshops, and safe youth activities.
Expand the waste recycling and circular economy project into a registered, profitable micro enterprise creating dignified green jobs.
Scale up urban kitchen farming along the Mathare riverbank to improve community nutrition and provide fresh produce for local sale.
Sustain weekly children's creative arts, reading, and porridge nutrition sessions as a protective space against street risks.
Strengthen youth leadership, financial literacy, life skills, and peer mentorship networks to prevent crime and substance abuse.
Projects and activities on the ground
Practical, collaborative activities led alongside local residents, schools, youth and women's groups.
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Waste Recycling and Circular Economy
- Community collection drives: Organised collection of plastic bottles, scrap metal, and recyclable paper across Mathare neighbourhoods.
- Sorting and processing: Manual sorting, cleaning, and preparation of recyclables for bulk sale to licensed recycling plants.
- Future value addition: Plans to acquire plastic shredders and baling equipment to manufacture recycled products locally.
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Urban Kitchen Farming and Food Security
- Riverbank cultivation: Transforming vacant or neglected spaces along the Mathare river into productive vegetable plots.
- Organic farming techniques: Using composted organic waste to grow chemical free spinach, kales, traditional greens, and herbs.
- Community food distribution: Providing fresh vegetables to member households, vulnerable neighbours, and local nursery schools.
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Children's Creative Arts and Nutrition Club
- Weekly art and expression workshops: Free weekend drawing, painting, and craft sessions where children develop creativity and confidence.
- Porridge and nutrition support: Serving hot nutritious porridge to every child participating in weekend activities.
- Positive peer mentorship: Older youth mentor younger children, providing role models, homework assistance, and safe companionship.
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Planned Community Training Centre
- Permanent training hub: Securing land and erecting a multi purpose facility in Mathare for classrooms, workshops, and community meetings.
- Vocational workshops: Fully equipped stations for tailoring, carpentry, metal fabrication, ICT and computer literacy, and solar maintenance.
- Youth enterprise incubator: Providing co working space, shared equipment, tool libraries, and mentorship for youth start ups.
Moments from our Youth Employment and Skills Development work
Everyday moments of learning, collaboration and community life shared with dignity and consent.
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What we hope to achieve
These intended outcomes reflect our goals and working commitments. In keeping with our accountability principles, we do not present future aims as verified past metrics.
A self sustaining community where young people are equipped with practical skills, economic opportunities, and the leadership capacity to transform their lives and community.
Keeping young people safe
Young people's names, faces and stories are shared only with their consent and, for children, their parent or guardian's consent. We take care not to reveal personal histories or details that could put anyone at risk.
Arts, Culture and Creative Development
Nurturing artistic talent, community murals, recycled art, music and cultural exchange with children and young people in Kenya.
View connected projectOur Impact & M&E Framework
Learn how ABWA plans projects, conducts monitoring and evaluation, and ensures community handover.
Read our impact framework.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Help build the community training centre in Mathare
Whether you would like to contribute tools and training materials, partner with us on the community training centre, or join the Miami Florida Youth Group during a volunteer work camp, we would love to talk with you.