Youth Service Set to Transform Young Lives Despite Rocky Start

By Anchor Writers

The Machakos Youth Service (MYS), one of Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s flagship projects, has set out to break the cycle of dependency among unemployed youth by equipping them with essential life skills.

However, the program’s launch has faced early challenges, delaying the reporting of its first cohort of recruits by days.

MYS aims to empower young people in a structured two-step process. The first phase, a boot camp, will focus on personal transformation through physical fitness drills, personal consciousness, and discipline.

This will be followed by life-sustainability training, where the youth will gain skills in areas such as ICT, agribusiness, electrical wiring, and plumbing—practical skills meant to last a lifetime and enhance their self-reliance.

The program, designed as a collaborative effort between the National Youth Service (NYS), the County Inspectorate, and the Department of Education, is part of a broader plan to uplift young people through empowerment rather than handouts.

While the vision remains inspiring, the program’s initial rollout has faced challenges. On January 8, 2025, the first group of 1,000 recruits was stopped from reporting to the newly constructed Machakos Youth Centre after last-minute phone calls postponed their arrival to January 13.

The delay followed an inspection by County Secretary Dr. Muya Ndambuki, who, along with technical teams from NYS and the Machakos County Government, found the center unprepared for the intake.

Further complications arose from the recruitment process itself. Ward administrators, tasked with selecting 25 youth from each ward, were instructed to target Form Four leavers and Standard Eight dropouts who had been unable to further their education.

However, many administrators recruited overqualified candidates, including diploma and degree holders, against the program’s guidelines.

The lack of stakeholder involvement in guiding the recruitment process has drawn internal administrative concerns, with fingers pointed a Chief Officer, for not adequately supervising the selection.

This lapse resulted in 700 out of the 1,000 initially recruited candidates being deemed unsuitable.

To address this, Vocational Training Center managers have now been tasked with filling the 700 slots. However, concerns persist that the number of recruits reporting on January 13 could exceed the formation centre’s capacity, located near the Agricultural Training Institute next to Machakos People’s Park.

Despite the rough start, optimism remains high. The county envisions the Machakos Youth Service as a transformative program where young people will gain critical skills in body fitness, disaster management, crowd control, first aid, and peer counseling.

Governor Wavinya Ndeti is expected to officially launch the program on January 16, although her current absence from the country since mid-December has left the date uncertain.

Once fully operational, the MYS has the potential to redefine youth empowerment in Machakos, giving young people the tools they need to break free from dependency and build sustainable futures. The county remains committed to ensuring the program’s success despite the initial hurdles.