Hiiraan Online
Friday, May 07, 2010
Garissa, North East Kenya (HOL) - The Garissa Youth Days is a youth summit held in early May designed to empower the young people of Garissa district in North Eastern Kenya. Through its various exhibitions which are sponsored by a league of partners both local and international, it aims to tackle many issues that otherwise hinder the development and livelihood of teenagers and young adults in North Eastern province.
The multi day summit is being held on May 4, 5 and 6 at various venues in Garissa town. It is divided into a series of events which help the participants build valuable life skills, bridge both technical and university education opportunities and introduce them to career paths. More importantly, they are given the opportunity to showcase their ideas, voice their opinions and be heard by their peers and adult leaders.
The conference kicked off on the morning May 4th with the Community Projects Exhibition at the Agricultural Training Centre. Students advertised projects ranging from HIV-AIDS prevention to conservation of the environment with the help from community mentors. The exhibitions came from all 36 villages of the municipality and included prominent speakers such as the Hon. Aden Barre Duale, MP from Dujis and Assistant Minister of Livestock Development; the Director of Education USAID Kenya, Dwaine Lee, and Jacqueline Glin the Project Director of G-Youth. They shared the stage with local musicians, actors, poets and comedians who entertained the crowd of 300.
Among the group of sponsors were USAID, EDC (Education Development Centre), Equity Bank and Star FM.
Ibrahim Hussein Mohamed, Deputy Project Director of the G-Youth program and one of the key facilitators 
of the event spoke to Hiiraan Online; he said “this is a rare opportunity for the youth of Garissa to interact and to engage with one another. I am proud to announce that G-Youth has further plans to expand the program to the rest of North Eastern Kenya.” Ibrahim also said that G-Youth is hoping and planning for an even bigger youth conference next year.
Later on that day the women of Garissa were given the opportunity to network and receive training on public speaking in a female-only invitational event.
The summit was concluded with a youth forum at Nomad Hotel conference centre on May 6th to discuss youth policy at local, provincial and national levels. Youth leaders and participants were given the opportunity to voice their praises and criticisms of the current policy as well as provide suggestions for reform.
The young had a chance to hear from the old as they listened to presentations from a variety of speakers who were somehow either directly or indirectly involved with G-Youth. 
Philemon Irungu Kiburu of Equity bank gave a moving speech about the significance of youth involvement in the development of Kenya. He reminded the mostly young audience that the youth aged between 18 and 30 comprise most of the Kenyan population and they hold the keys to Kenya’s progress. He told the listeners “young people, not the old are the ones who most often make history” citing the plight of Nelson Mandela and the achievements of some of the world’s most prominent businessmen as his evidence.
Among the keynote speakers was the Deputy Mayor of Garissa town, Ismail Mohamed Garad (Qoreye), who urged the youth of his town not to be discouraged by what may appear as bleak opportunities, but to believe firmly in their future and strive towards their aspirations. He also praised G-Youth for their efforts because it is in effect the only NGO working actively with youths in Garissa. He also made some more controversial statements about the marginalization of the North East Province and why it is lacking considerably behind the rest of Kenya. He urged the Kenyan government to take productive steps in narrowing the gaps created by national policies that have been the product of years of injustice and lack of representation. He is hopeful that the passing of the new draft constitution in Kenya can help correct these errors and help move them en route to the right direction.