Vocational training improves lives in Kenya

John Emuria has spent most of his life herding his family’s livestock in Samburu, a county in the northern part of Kenya. Since he never received a formal education, he could not read or write.

Like many of his peers in nomadic tribes, Emuria, 41, faces myriad challenges including constant conflict with other herders, due to scarce resources like water and pasture for their animals.

Sometimes he even has to resort to raiding other herders’ livestock, a common practice in the area. “We fight with guns for survival, and in the process lives are lost. The northern part of Kenya is used to cattle rustling, which has killed numerous people,” Emuria said.

But life for the father of two is likely to change, as he will leave herding and become a mason following his graduation earlier this month after three months of masonry training.

He had participated in a technical training program that aims to equip young people from nomadic tribes with skills. The program was launched to help transform lives and improve regional security.

Ujuzi Manyattani is a mobile vocational training model that supports young people in northern parts of Kenya. The initiative seeks to equip them with alternative opportunities to diversify livelihoods, mitigate poverty and end conflict cycles.

“Over the years, nomadic communities in the northern part of Kenya have witnessed perennial fighting,” said Margaret Mwakima, Kenya’s principal secretary for the State Department of Vocational and Technical Training. She said that this has disrupted education in the region, but “we are using technical skills to end this war and silence the guns”.

The Ujuzi Manyattani initiative has been carried out in some counties since 2019. The skills currently offered under the initiative include masonry, carpentry, motorcycle mechanics, welding, and solar installations and maintenance.

Conducted by two public technical training institutes in collaboration with an international nongovernmental organization,

Ujuzi Manyattani has benefited 546 people over the past three years. This year saw 337 young men and women graduate under this initiative.

“Trainers are supervised by the heads of department of the relevant courses based on the course curricula and work schemes,” said Maina Njane, chief principal of Laikipia North Technical and Vocational College, which offers the training.

Rose Tugai, a 28-year-old from Samburu county, is a beneficiary of the program. She never attended any learning institution before this initiative.

“Ujuzi Manyattani has really empowered Samburu women. … I plan to open a restaurant in the nearby town center to earn a decent living,” she said.