RAFIKI YA MAISHA plans to build 8 workshops in Chepkanga, North-
Western Kenya, in order to equip unschooled teens with
professional skills. The new structure will be built with
homemade bricks. The training of the youth, especially girls,
aims to achieve empowerment and self-reliance. In rural Kenya,
74% of the teenagers and young adults are unable to move beyond
available free primary education. These 'lost' teens or
'dropouts' typically turn to risky behaviors: early pregnancies
for girls, addictions for boys. Towns become ghettoized and
rural areas loose their youth. Offering this lost youth a
technical education closer to home aims to break the cycle of
poverty on site, right where it is needed. Families in a 50km
radius around Chepkanga will benefit directly. The village
elders are mobilizing to build a sustainable Polytechnic school
with a degree program. It will offer a variety of courses with
workshops, a library, a theater, classrooms and boarding
facilities. Computers have been introduced in the vil