Young people prepare for African exchange
Members of a Warwickshire County Council youth group will be travelling to Kenya next week to lend their support to a community youth project.
Project Rafiki (‘rafiki’ means friend in Swahili) is a team of ten young people aged 15-18 from Warwick and The Outhouse Youth Club in Shipston on Stour.
On Thursday 29 January they will embark on a three-week trip to Kenya where they will be working as peer mentors as part of an exchange programme with Mombasa Youth Centre.
Warwickshire’s youngsters will be joining the team of peer educators and counsellors at the centre to undertake work with local communities in supporting the integration of sexual health services and information provision to young people.
Angela Wright, a Youth and Community Worker for the council’s Youth Service developed links with the centre when she took part in a voluntary placement there in early 2007. She was so impressed with the work they were doing that she made two return trips in 2008 with the intention of setting up an exchange programme.
During her visits Angela got involved with a number of activities including, sessions at a local orphanage, life skills seminars at local schools, health days and outreach work in Mombasa communities.
These opportunities to participate demonstrated how whole communities are encouraged to work together to find way to make life better for everyone and for future generations. She said: “The youth centre’s range of activities for young people are designed to give them a sense of who they are by addressing a number of important issues. It’s not just about their welfare and keeping safe but also to help with their personal and social development.
“I felt that the young people from the Shipston youth centre would benefit from engagement with the project and gaining a firsthand insight into the issues facing their peers in Mombasa.”
The participating young people were chosen by members of VOX, the county council’s youth panel, who took decisions based on applicants’ anonymous personal statements about what they hoped to learn from participation and what they felt they could contribute.
With guidance from their youth workers, the chosen youngsters have led the project from the start and secured funding for the trip through successful applications to the Youth Opportunity Fund, and the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council.
They also arranged a number of successful fundraising events such as a sponsored walk, a disco, and car boot sales as well as participating in Shipston’s Victorian evening in December.
This trip is the first stage of an ongoing exchange project and the group has already begun fundraising to pay for eight young people and their youth workers from Mombasa to visit the UK in Autumn 2009.
Although plans are underway to raise the money required to make this plan a reality Project Rafiki would welcome further support and sponsorship. If you think you could be of assistance please contact Angela Wright on (01926) 413637 or email angelawright@warwickshire.gov.uk.
Cabinet member Izzi Seccombe, Portfolio Holder for Children Young People and Families said: “I am always pleased to hear about our effective links with international communities and this is another excellent example, I hope the group are able to raise the funds they need to continue developing this worthwhile exchange programme.
“This trip is sure to be an positive and life changing experience for each of the young people involved who are set to learn a great deal about the experiences of their African peers whilst gaining a range of valuable skills.”