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| by Thomas Igeme, |
Dec 14, 2001 |
Resolution on the Youth
What can the youth do to change our world?
What is the situation for youth in my countr?
Noting with deep concern the fact that in Kenya, society is still a long way from appreciating the rights of children. Children are still considered, in many places, especially poorer areas, as a bother or agents of a get-rich-quick scheme. Parents think that by having more children, they will generate more income for the family. Sadly however, the only thing that is being generated in high quantity is unemployment. More and more professionals are wandering around Nairobi’s streets in search of even the most meagre sources of income. These unemployed citizens, think that by having more children they will be aiding themselves. However, they just continue the cycle. Along this suicidal cycle, children are exploited as cheap labour as soon as they can walk on their own. Parents agree to the harsh conditions and low wages their children get since they have no other form of income. It is thus sad to note that there are more children in child labour despite the United Nations attempts to discourage it.
Aware that the number of school dropouts in Kenya has increased greatly over the last five years and without education there is no development. There are more and more dropouts with school fees on a constant horizontal gradient. Most of these youth are left idle and turn to drugs and alcohol as a way of passing time. They develop an addiction and in order to finance these habits, they turn to violence and crime. All youth are then labelled as hooligans and misfits, and so the lack of appreciation of rights goes on. After all, do we really believe that misfits and hooligans should have rights?
Greatly distressed at the AIDS scourge which is not only raping Kenya of great professionals, but leaving more AIDS orphans, thus adding to the number of children whose dreams are shattered before they can even make them. Despite relentless promoting of AIDS, its causes, effects and prevention, the number of people who die daily in Kenya from AIDS is 700, up from 600 last year. The majority of this number are people between the age of 15 and 35, the most productive time in ones life. This is the stage where people are able to contribute most to our country. They are youth, they are energetic, they are budding with information and new ideas. Sadly, we lose 700 potential presidents, doctors, lawyers, environmentalists, and thousands of other professionals daily … to AIDS. Where do we draw the line?
!. Stress the importance of education. First and foremost, I would put all my energy and resources into promoting education. Not only for the parents, but also for youth. Why? Because I realise that this is a problem that cannot be solved immediately. We have to take into consideration that ‘old habits die hard’. However, young, fresh minds are more impressionable and so hopefully, if the youth are able to understand why education is important, they will educate their children. Without education, we cannot develop. Kenya spends billions of shillings (over half a million US$) every three years, hiring foreign professionals. Most of Kenya’s own people would have done the job wonderfully, were they given half a chance.
2. To set up advisory boards, made up of about ten people all over the country. They would be part of youth oriented centres which would serve as places where youth could go and seek for help without fear of retribution. I would seek to have counsellors and psychologists available to give the youth advice and information. This way, I hope to reduce the number of people who use the excuse, “But I was never told by my parents, they shield away from the question” or “they reprimanded me for my question.”
3. I would encourage the government to put Guidance and Counselling as a non-examinable subject with a syllabus and materials that teachers can refer to. This should be put on the curriculum so that the youth will be able to raise up points and questions in their own forums in their classrooms a way for the youth to express themselves. Thus it would not really be a ‘student-learning-from-teacher’ class but a student-teacher exchange class.
4. I would welcome A LOT more suggestions from the rest of you.
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Comments
Great but... Thomas Igeme | Dec 15th, 2001
This a great idea, but someone else should post an idea about how we can do this using TIG and what aspects of TIG can be improved to accentuate this.
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