Programme 05 · Youth
Youth Empowerment
Influencing positive behaviour change and equipping young people with the vocational skills, sporting opportunities and community leadership experience they need to build a future for themselves and their communities.
90+
Community groups reached
27+
Years serving Machakos County
The challenge
Young people with nothing to say yes to
Young people in the semi-arid communities of Machakos County face a particular set of pressures: limited secondary and vocational education options, high unemployment, exposure to drugs and alcohol, and a lack of structured pathways into productive adult life.
Without intervention, cycles of poverty, substance abuse and disengagement reproduce themselves across generations. The energy and potential of youth, if not channelled constructively, becomes a source of community instability rather than transformation.
Our approach
Opportunity, not only messaging
NACODEV’s youth development programme recognises that lasting behaviour change requires more than messaging; it requires opportunity. Young people need something to say yes to, not just something to say no to.
The programme creates those positive alternatives through vocational training, sports and structured leadership development, embedded within NACODEV’s wider Christian community development framework.
What we do
Four ways we invest in young people
Vocational skills development
Young people are equipped with practical vocational skills that open pathways to self-employment and income generation. Training is contextualised to local economic opportunities, so graduates can apply their skills within their own communities rather than being forced to migrate for work.
Sports development
Organised sporting activities give young people constructive outlets for energy, build teamwork and discipline, and create safe social environments that reduce vulnerability to negative peer influence. Sports also serve as an entry point for behaviour change communication around health, drugs and responsible living.
Community leadership
Youth are actively involved in NACODEV’s community development activities, building leadership skills and a sense of ownership over community change. Young leaders are mentored to become community advocates for health, environmental stewardship and social cohesion.
Behaviour change communication
Integrated with the health programme’s drugs and substance abuse prevention work, NACODEV delivers behaviour change sessions at schools and community gatherings, equipping young people with the knowledge and social skills to make positive choices and influence their peers.
“NACODEV showed us that we have a role to play — not just as beneficiaries but as builders of our own community.”
— Youth participant, Yatta Sub-County
Impact
The next generation of change agents
The youth development programme has contributed to measurable reductions in substance abuse in targeted communities through integrated prevention and positive alternatives. Young people trained in vocational skills have found pathways to income generation, reducing economic pressure on households.
Youth involved in community leadership initiatives have become active participants in NACODEV’s self-help group network, the next generation of community change agents who will carry this work forward.
Programme at a glance
Key facts
| Focus | Behaviour change, skills, sports |
| Area | Machakos County |
| Methods | Vocational training, sports, leadership |
| Integration | Health and education programmes |
Related programmes
Partner with NACODEV
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