young africa

Nokia Research Center

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Research Team

Nokia Research Centre Africa:

Jussi Impio – Research Leader

Mokeira Masita-Mwangi – Social Scientist / Researcher (Project Team Leader)

Faith Ronoh-Boreh – Researcher (Ethiopia, South Africa)

Nancy Mwakaba – Researcher (Nigeria, Zambia)

Nyambura Kimani – Researcher (Senegal)

Country Coordinators:

Wahid Manaye – Ethiopia

Tsakani Nghalaluma – South Africa

Enock Chisanga – Zambia

Elijah Agnew Mbwavi – Senegal

Ajiga Olusegun – Nigeria

Other country support team:

Valentine Righa – Respondent Recruiter, Kwale, Kenya

Diana Nkirote Gitonga – Youth Scout, Nairobi, Kenya

Jane Mulanda – Youth Scout, Nairobi, Kenya

Patrick Kariuki – Youth Scout, Nairobi, Kenya

Cecilia Mkamburi – Youth Scout, Kwale, Kenya

Juma Shibe – Youth Scout, Kwale, Kenya

Binthamisi Toulu – Youth Scout, Kwale, Kenya

Harry Mwawasi – Youth Scout, Kwale, Kenya

Teke Kaleab – Respondent Recruiter, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Nahom Asrat – Youth Scout, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tiblets Kaleab Birhane – Youth Scout, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Asebe Tekeste – Respondent Recruiter, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

Tariku Bacha – Youth Scout, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

Kidist Megzebu Aklilu – Youth Scout, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

Zodwa Shongwe – Respondent Recruiter, Johannesburg, South Africa

Samantha Bungali – Youth Scout, Johannesburg, South Africa

Luyanda Mbatha Ngoeese – Youth Scout Johannesburg, South Africa

Lesetja Reatlegile Mogoba – Respondent Recruiter, Jane Furse, South Africa

Percy Mabau – Youth Scout, Jane Furse, South Africa

Sammy Rasomane – Youth Scout, Jane Furse, South Africa

Moses Mpeta – Youth Scout, Lusaka, Zambia

Natasha Kabanda – Youth Scout, Lusaka, Zambia

Daive Sing’andu – Youth Scout, Chikankata, Zambia

Hamukamba M Hang’andu – Youth Scout, Chikankata, Zambia

Koutob Naoto Gilchrist – Moderator, Senegal

Sossehange Ouraga – Respondent Recruiter, Thiès, Senegal

Aissatou Ndiaye – Respondent Recruiter, Saly, Senegal

Abdoulaye SY – Respondent Recruiter, Thiès, Senegal

Moize – Youth Scout, Dakar, Senegal

Sunday Olaniyan – Moderator / Interviewer, Nigeria

Debbie Erinosho – Respondent Recruiter, Nigeria

Tulu Ojoabere – Youth Scout, Lagos, Nigeria

Suleodu Odutayo – Youth Scout, Ikorodu, Nigeria

Maragaret Eniola Apena – Youth Scout, Ikorodu, Nigeria

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Young Africa | Development and Empowerment of Young People in Africa2

Contents

CHAPTER ONE: STUDY BACKGROUND 12

Study Rationale 12

Study Locations 13

Target Respondents 18

Research Methodology and Techniques 19

Research Questions 22

Report structure and content 23

CHAPTER TWO: EDUCATION 26

Education in Africa 26

Perceptions and youth attitudes towards education 36

An Educational Day at Starays Academy, Kibera, Nairobi 42

Student life and experience at Chikankata Basic School, Zambia 49

CHAPTER THREE: LIVELIHOODS 54

Youth and money 56

Livelihood opportunities; do they exist? 57

Ideal jobs versus the reality 68

Attaining the ideal jobs 70

Business as Usual at Kwale Youth Business Centre, Kwale, Kenya 71

All in a day’s work at the Sub-Saharan Africa Research and Training Institute, Addis Ababa 73

CHAPTER FOUR: LIFESTYLE 76

Youth categories 77

Pastime, fun and entertainment 86

Keeping Fit at the Cornichian ‘Sweat Factory’ Corniche Beach, Dakar Senegal 87

A Night out Partying at OZ Club in Soweto 89

Dressing 91

Traveling 95

Dreams and aspirations 99

Perceptions 108

Youth and Health 110

Reaching out to the Youth with Mobile Clinic Heath Services through the Arts in Kisauni, Kenya 115

CHAPTER FIVE: MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION 120

Mobile Phones 121

Computers 126

Mass Media 127

Social Networks 128


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CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS 132

Education 133

Employment 135

Entertainment 137

Tables and Figures

Figure 1: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Kenya 13

Figure 2: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Ethiopia 14

Figure 3: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for South Africa 14

Figure 4: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Zambia 15

Figure 5: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Senegal 15

Figure 6: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Nigeria 16

Figure 7: Adolescent births per 1000 women in Kenya 111

Figure 8: Adolescent births per 1000 women in Ethiopia 112

Figure 9: Adolescents births per 1000 women in South Africa 112

Figure 10: Contraceptive use in South Africa 112

Figure 11: Adolescent births per 1000 women in Zambia 113

Figure 12: Adolescents births per 1000 women in Nigeria 114

Table1: Kenya focus group discussions composition 20

Table2: Ethiopia focus group discussions composition 20

Table3: South Africa focus group discussions composition 20

Table 4: Zambia focus group discussions composition 20

Table 5: Senegal focus group discussions composition 20

Table 6: Nigeria focus group discussions composition 20

Table 7: Types of immersions / observations 21

Table 8: Information areas 23

Table 9: Structure of education, content, capacity and technology use in education 29

Table 10: Enrollment rates in 6 African countries 37

Table 11: What youth in Africa like / dislike about school 40

Table 12: Examples of young people’s ideal jobs 68

Table 13: African youth categories 78

Table 14: Pastime activities for youth in Africa 86

Table 15: Youth descriptions of cool guys and hot chicks 93

Table 16: Health statistics of Senegal 114

Table 17: Internet usage in Africa 126


AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

BT Bluetooth

CBO Community Based Organisation

CDs Compact Discs

CEO Chief Executive Officer

CFA Franc Cefa

CRE Christian Religious Education

CV Curriculum Vitae

DFID Department for International Development

DHS Demographic Health Survey

DJ Disc Jockey

DoCWILs Department of Communication Web Internet Laboratories

EDP Entrepreneurs Development Programme

EFA Education for All

ETH Ethiopia

EU European Union

EUR Euro

FC Football Club

FGD Focus Group Discussion

FGM Female Genital Mutilation

FIFA International Federation of Football Associations

FOMO Fear of Missing Out

GAP Graduate Attachment Programme

GHC Geography History and Civics

HIV Human Immuno Deficiency Virus

IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity

ILFS International Labour Force Survey

ILO International Labour Organisation

ICTs Information Communication Technologies

IRE Islamic Religious Education

IT Information Technology

JETS Junior Engineers Technicians and Scientists Club

Joburg Johanessburg

KBC Kenya Broadcasting Corporation

KCPE Kenya Certificate of Primary Education

KCSE Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education

KEN Kenya

KES Kenya Shillings

KIE Kenya Institute of Education

KIIs Key Informant Interviews

KKV Kazi Kwa Vijana

KMTC Kenya Medical Training College

KTN Kenya Television Network

LGAs Local Government Areas

LICODEP Likoni Community Development Programme

LLB Legum Baccalaureus / Bachelor of Laws

LYCC Likoni Youth Community Centre

MC Master of Ceremony

MP Member of Parliament

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms


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MPCC Multi Purpose Community Centres

MSMEs Micro Small and Medium Enterprises

NBS National Bureau of Statistics

NDE National Directorate of Employment

NERDC Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council

NGO Non Governmental Organisation

NIG Nigeria

NOAS National Open Apprenticehip Scheme

NRC Nokia Research Centre

NYSC National Youth Service Corps

OBE Outcome Based Education

PC Personal Computer

PITs Personal Information Terminals

PLC Public Limited Company

Prim Primary

R Rand

RADTS Rural Agriculture and Development Training Scheme

REP Rural Employment Promotion

RHRU Reproductive Health Research Unit

RHS Rural handicrafts Scheme

SA South Africa

SART Sub Saharan Africa Research and Training Institute

Sec Secondary

SEN Senegal

SMS Short Message Service

SNS Social Networking Sites

SOW Schools on Wheels

SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

SPW Special Public Works

Sq/km Square Kilometers

SSA Sub Saharan Africa

SSE Small Scale Enterprises

STD Sexually Transmitted Disease

STI Sexually Transmitted Infection

TD Technical Drawing

3D Three Dimension

TV Television

TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training

UAE United Arab Emirates

UBE Universal Basic Education

UCAD University of Cheikh Anta Diop

UK United Kingdom

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNGASS United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV and AIDS

USA United States of America

USAID United States Agency for International Development

USD United States Dollar

VCT Voluntary Counseling and Testing

VSD Vocational Skills Development

WIBA Women International Boxing Association

ZAM Zambia


Prologue

In Africa 42% of the population is 15 years or younger. Many Asian countries managed to utilize

similar demographic structures by recruiting great masses of working age youth to low paying industrial

jobs. This attracted foreign investment and enabled rapid economic growth in India, China and some

other Asian countries. The situation in Africa compared to Asia 10 years ago is somewhat different: Africa

has 56 countries, corrupted governance, immature legislations, low education level, etc. Altogether it

is fair to say that most African countries are not yet ready for the “industrial revolution”, despite the

availability of young, healthy and motivated labor. Frances Steward from the Development Studies

Department in Oxford University says in his study “Root causes of violent conflict in the developing

countries” that the number of unemployed young men correlates with the overall instability of the

country. An idle mind is the devils workshop, says an old Christian proverb. Idle young men are also

a workshop and a resource for radical political leaders and other economically influential people that

are often behind the conflicts in Africa. The more idle young men there are, the more likely you are to

have war like conflicts. Young girls with low education level and no jobs are more likely to get into early

marriage and give birth to a large number of children or get into prostitution, as our study will show

you. Here are the two extremes where big numbers of youth with very little opportunities can lead:

Asian type economical wonders or internal and external conflicts and increased instability.

This study aims at understanding the lives of young people in 6 African countries from their

own perspective. What are the hopes and fears, who their heroes and role models are and what are

the realistic opportunities for these young people. With this insight we are better equipped to create

mobile solutions which are engaging and empowering at the same time. Mobile phones are part of

the lives of African youth. If one doesn´t yet have a phone, he or she is saving for it right now. Mobiles

can provide an effective channel for reaching African youth with empowering tools of self-expression,

education and employment.

African youth in general lack opportunities, this can create phenomena such as the “Yahoo

Boys” in Nigeria (whose products are a common annoyance and referred to as “Nigerian letters” on the

receiving end). Here we have a group of entrepreneurial young men with few opportunities to utilize

their skills in a legal way and operating in an environment where the grey area is so wide, that this kind

of activity is socially more or less acceptable. Can we offer something for the Yahoo Boys and people like

them where they can legally benefit from their adventures in a virtual world and pursue their ambition

in a more sustainable manner? Are we able to provide something for the rural girls with no access to

education and very little hope of getting a job? Though these challenges seem great, often just a little

push, or pull to the right direction is enough for the young person who is balancing between the ability

to sustain one´s life or not, between the legal and illegal or between hope and hopelessness. Mobile

solutions have a great promise in giving this little extra empowering push, and it is our challenge and

responsibility to deliver the tools for it.

Jussi ImpiöResearch Leader

Nokia Research Center Africa


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About Young Africa Project

NRC Africa chose to study the African youth because they are an integral part of future socio-

economic development in the region; they have the potential to be the drivers of this given their

numbers. Sub-Saharan Africa is the youngest region of the world - 44% of population is under

15yrs. The overall goal of the project was to understand in-depth what being an African youth is all

about; map out the various challenges and opportunities in terms of education, employment and

entertainment so as to create meaningful mobile solutions for development and empowerment of

youth in Africa. The study was carried out in 6 countries in SSA namely Kenya and Ethiopia in the

east, South Africa and Zambia in the south and Senegal and Nigeria in the west. The main study was

qualitative in nature seeking to explore the the issues in-depth through group discussions, in-depth

interviews, ethnographic immersions and participatory youth scouts. Supporting pre-studies were

also conducted i.e. desk study (secondary data) and real time youth insights.

Findings on Education:

How accessible is education to young people in Africa? It appears that access to a good formal

education is still a challenge for many African youth. Completion of primary school equals the end of

the road for many trying to acquire a ‘good’ formal education. Hundreds of thousands drop out every

year after primary school as there are not enough secondary schools to accommodate everyone. Also,

while primary school is free in most places many cannot afford to pay secondary school fees and other

associated costs. Similarly many more drop out after secondary school because there are not enough

public universities to accommodate all. Most of those left out cannot afford fees at private universities.

The option for many of these drop outs is either to join vocational or technical training insitutions or

informal schooling altogether. Another factor contributing to the poor access is the severe shortage of

qualified trained teachers to deliver the curriculums to students in Africa. Rural and public schools are

especially affected and as such student teacher ratios are quite appalling. It is possible to find extremes

where one teacher has over 100 students in their class. Some country governments e.g. Ethiopia and

Kenya are introducing digitized curriculums and broadcasting live lessons to schools in an effort to

try and mitigate lack of teaching staff. However ICT infrastructure is still very poor (including lack of

electricity in most rural areas) and where ICT facilities exist they are limited and poorly maintained.

How relevant is the education in Africa? On the most education does little to prepare young

people for the realities of the job market. Curriculums are heavily theoretical with little or no practical

activities incorporated. The method of instruction is also mainly lecture based with little opportunity

for students to exercise creativity and critical thinking. In some countries revision and rationalization

of the curriculums has seen elimination of ‘practical’ subjects such as Art and Craft, Music, Home

Science among others which the youth appreciated for the technical skills they were previously able

to acquire. In addition though most countries have now introduced life skills or life orientation in

their curriculums it is still largely ineffective due to the limited topics covered and poor methods of

delivery. There is also little or no use of relevant technologies in education. Through the study it was

also established that academics are what matter; extra curricula activities are not a given and… they

really don’t count. This is evident in most public schools as there are no standards or enforcement of

extra curricula activities by relevant education authorities hence little or no emphasis on the same by

Executive Summary


the schools. The variety of activities available therefore is quite limited for most and very little time is

allocated for such activities. In some places like Zambia, the students are even made to do other tasks

such as cleaning the school during the time allocated for extra curriculas. Further, due to the absence

of enough patrons or coaches to drive these activities, they simply do not succeed. Extra curricula

activities are also mainly an in-school affair – it starts and ends here as youth have limited avenues for

continuation after secondary school. Nonetheless talent exists and youth are eager to develop and

nurture it to its full potential.

Findings on Employment:

Livelihood opportunities – do they exist? Formal employment opportunities are few and far

between. As such a good formal education does not necessarily translate into a good job in the formal

sector. The landscape is extremely competitive. There is also a livelihood tug of war between the older

and younger generation in that opportunities are withheld by the older persons and there is no room

for young people to exercise skills and creativity in the workplace. There is limited flexibility to allow

exploration and pursuit of ambitions. Also students are often locked in a career that is in line with

their study discipline which is difficult to break out. All in all the study therefore found that there is

thus a strong desire to by many young people to make a shift to self-employment. This is driven by

acknowledgement of job market realities and personal factors such as education background, skills,

talents, personal interests and passions, creativity and innovation. However this is also stifled by fear due

to lack of experience, business start-up know how and associated risks as well as no entrepreneurship

training and mentoring through education systems. Youth also lack access to start-up and expansion

capital hence never quite making the shift to self-employment despite the desire to do so. The Young

Africa study also established that youth have poor access to job market information. There is heavy

reliance on advertisements in mass media particulary newspapers yet the youth have limited access to

the same; distribution in rural areas is negligible hence rural youth are especially affected. There is also

a tendency by the youth to be fixated on the ‘Big’ companies. They have lmited awareness of the other

players and also display unrealistic expectations of employment – where they will work, how soon they

will be promoted, how much they will earn, benefits they are likely to get, etc. Youth also lack awareness

of and knowledge to seize meaningful business opportunities.

Findings on Entertainment:

What’s big on the entertainment scene? Entertainment equals music; it’s a way of life or life itself

– every youth wants a piece of it be it in terms of listening to it, dancing to it or making it for those who

have some talent that they want to exploit even in terms of livelihood. Youth listen to music either as

a solo activity during their regular day to day routines or with friends (including dancing) still within

regular day to day activities or sometimes during specific social events. Many access music through

radio and some also share and exchange music within their social networks.

Any news on the music industry? Young musicians in Africa are missing out on a big break. The

production industry is highly fragmented – too many people hold the rights for different aspects of a

song. As such musicians cannot sign for hence get paid for use of their music or placement in a music

store or other similar platform. Piracy persists and is still therefore a great challenge for many young

African musicians trying to eke out a living from their music. Nonetheless the appreciation for local

music is continmuing to grow. For example local music for genres that in the recent past have typically

been western are now available such as Kenyan Rock.


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What else engages young minds and young time? Watching TV and Movies are a common and

favourite pastime for many youth. Like music it’s both a solo or social activity but the latter is more

preferred. Approximately 90% of what youth in Africa are watching is mainstream (western and other

from abroad) and 10% is Nollywood and other local programmes and movies. Youth have music on their

phones and now also want mobile TV and movies. They are also making the shift from broadcasted TV

to the same content on DVD because of increased availability and accessibility of the same. However

just like the music, most of the material is pirated. Some youth especially the urban and mid to upper

income ones also play games such as play station though there seems not to be a very strong gaming

culture especially with mobile phone games. The desire to read as a pastime activity also exists for many

though access to suitable literature is quite a challenge. Many depend on school resources which are

also rather limited. There are little or no community resources such as libraries through which youth can

also access reading material. There is also limited access to computers and the Internet which would be

the other option. How then can free literature or content that exists be packaged and availed for youth

in Africa? Significant numbers of youth also spend their pastimes in pursuit of given talents, passions and

interests. Many youth are big on sports; football is particularly popular across the various countries be it

in terms of playing or watching. Pay-to-view halls in rural and low income urban areas capitalize on this.

Other youth are into performing arts both in terms of performing or watching. Generally there is room

to experiment and grow given that audiences in Africa are quite receptive to new and raw talent. Youth

are also joining and forming art groups with hope of earning some income from it so how best can they

be helped to monetize their talents? Just as music is universal amongst young people, all youth simply

love to socialize with friends and there is need for new and more cost effective methods to help youth

keep in touch with their social networks.


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Study Rationale

Why are African youth important? With 44%

of its population under age 15, Sub Saharan Africa

is the youngest region of the world (2006). We are

therefore living in the age of youth. The population

of Africa exceeded 1 Billion at the end of 2009. Youth

being the majority have the potential to play a

crucial role in bringing about great socio-economic

development in Africa. Asia is a good example

having started its economic development when the

large youth population attained working age and

joined the labour market.

Helen Clark, Head of UNDP is recently quoted

as saying: “In the next decade, Africa is either going

to rise or fall with it’s youth”. This statement implies

that despite the great potential that exists among

the youth, there are challenges that need to be

overcome such as unemployment, social vices, limited

education & training opportunities, urbanization &

globalization demands and influences, among others.

Thus the essence of this research study carried out

by Nokia Research Centre, Africa – to explore solutions

for development and empowerment of young Africans.

Broadly the key research objective was to understand

what being an African youth is all about in terms of:

exploring and defining African youth segments and their

lifestyles, mapping youth callenges and opportunities and

illustrating what impact and influence mobile technology

has had so far amongst young people. The findings of this

study will therefore enable NRC Africa develop meaningful

mobile solutions for the development and empowerment

of the youth in Africa.

Chapter One | Study Background

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Study Locations

Where was the study conducted?

The study was conducted in Rural and

Urban Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa,

Zambia, Senegal and Nigeria in seeking

to gather insights from different parts

of Sub-Saharan Africa - East, West and

Southern.

Kenya

Kenya is a country in East Africa.

Lying along the Indian Ocean, and at

the Equator, it is bordered by Ethiopia

to the north, Somalia to the northeast,

Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the

west and Sudan to the northwest.

The capital city is Nairobi. In 2008 the

population of Kenya was estimated

to be 38.5 million with a population

growth rate of 2.6 percent. This growth

rate had declined from 2.8 percent in

2005 which is largely attributed to death from diseases especially HIV/AIDS

and better methods of family planning. The youth in Kenya, number about 9.1

million, and account for 32% of the population. Of these, 51.7 % are females.

The population density is estimated at 68.58sq/km in an area of 580,367km2.

The population pyramid reveals that Kenya is populated by young people as

shown below:

Figure 1: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Kenya

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Figure 2: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Ethiopia

South Africa is the

fourth largest country in the

Commonwealth and has the sixth

largest population in Africa. With

50% of its population living in urban

areas, South Africa has a higher rate

of urbanization than most Sub-

Saharan countries. According to

2009 mid-year population estimates,

South Africa has a population of

49,320,500 persons with Africans

being a majority constituting

just more than 79% of the total

population. The White population

constitutes 9.1% of the population,

coloured population 9% and Indian/

Asian constitute 2.6% of the whole

population. 52% of the population

is female. The country occupies

a land mass of about 1,221,037

km2 and has a population density of 40.39 sq/km. South African population is

predominantly young, with youth constituting the largest segment as compared

to other population groups. The population pyramid of this country reveals that

the country is dominated by young people. This is especially so for the age group

10-34 years. The figure below presents a better understanding of the population

in South Africa:

Figure 3: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for South Africa

Ethiopia is a landlocked

country in East Africa and is one

of the most ancient countries in

the world. It is the second most

populous nation in Africa and the

tenth largest by area. The capital

city is Addis Ababa. Population

censuses and projections conducted

in different years show that youth

constitute a high proportion

of the Ethiopian population. In

2009, the population of Ethiopia

was estimated at 82,825,000 in

comparison to the estimate of 2007

which was 77,100,000. By then the

urban population was 16% of the

total population. The youth aged

10-24 years were 26,500,000 in

2006 which was 34% of the total

population. The population density of this country is 71.74sq/km in an area of

1,104,300km2 according to 2009 estimates. The population pyramid shows the

country experiences high birth rates due to the wide base. The death rate is also

high for individuals above 50 years. This pyramid indicates that the country has

more young people.

Ethiopia

South Africa


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The Republic of Senegal is a

country in western Africa. Senegal

is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean

to the west, Mauritania to the

north, Mali to the east and Guinea

and Guinea-Bissau to the south. It

also encircles Gambia on its three

sides, except that of the Atlantic

Ocean. Dakar is the capital city. This

country is 196,722 km² in size with

an estimated population of about

12.5 million by 2009. The population

density is 63.71sq/km. About a

third of the population lives below

the poverty line with about 70% of

the population living in rural areas.

The population pyramid reveals a

high birth rate and a high death

rate in the country with a youthful

generation.

Figure 4: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Zambia

Figure 5: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Senegal

The Republic of Zambia is

a landlocked country in Southern

Africa. The neighboring countries

are the Democratic Republic of

Congo to the north, Tanzania to

the north-east, Malawi to the east,

Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana,

and Namibia to the south, and

Angola to the west. The capital city

is Lusaka located in the southeast

of the country. The population is

concentrated mainly around the

capital Lusaka in the south and

the Copper belt to the northwest.

According to 2009 population

estimates, the population of Zambia

is estimated at 12,935,000 million.

The population density is estimated

at 17.19sq/km and the country

occupies a land mass of 752,618km2.

The major challenges facing youth

in Zambia include unemployment, access to education and HIV/AIDS. The wide

base of the population pyramid indicates a large proportion of the population is

young. This is an indicator of a high birth rate. The narrow top indicates a small

proportion of the population is old implying a high death rate. Ageing or youthful

populations may have implications on labour availability and unemployment,

economic growth, educational provision.

Zambia

Senegal


Urban and Rural Locations

Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Dakar and Lusaka being

the capital cities of Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal and Zambia

respectively were selected as the ideal urban settings

to study as they very well satisfy most of the key urban

characteristics such as piped water, good access roads,

proper medical services, schools, ICTs among others.

Entertainment and pastime activities that the youth like

to get involved in such as clubs, cinema halls, malls and

other recreational facilties are also abundantly available as

compared to other urban centres. These cities also have

a wider variety of institutions of higher learning, both

private and public, that offer a wider range of faculties and

courses to students and also differing varying experiences

in socialization, religious affiliations and cultures. In

addition it would be quite likely to capture findings on

research questions related to migration and globalization

as a whole. For South Africa and Nigeria, Johannesburg

and Lagos respectively were selected despite not being the

capital cities but definitely measure up to the mentioned

urban characterstics as do the capital cities of the other

countries of study.

Youth in rural and urban settings are generally

exposed to different cultures, opportunities, experiences,

and youth related issues hence the reason to also study

youth in rural or peri-urban settings for more comprehensive

findings. The dichotomy and the interrelatedness of the

two are of great importance in understanding who the

youth are and in raising relevant issues to the study.

Globally, the definition of rural is relative hence for

purposes of the study and as would be expected in most

of Africa, the definition of rural settled on for this study is a

place that largely satisfies the following characteristics:

z No electricity or limited to central market places or

shopping centres hence majority of households depend

on other forms of power

z No piped water schemes or limited access to these

hence majority of household either fetch water from a

river, dug wells or boreholes or harvest rain water

z Housing structures are simple and temporary or semi-

permanent e.g. mud, mud plastered, thatched roofing,

timber, corrugated iron sheets

z Transport and communication infrastructure and ser-

vices are limited – mostly earth or murram roads, limited

public service vehicles or personal cars but more use of

traditional means such as bicycles, carts, or simply walk-

ing, no or limited access to computers, fair use or access

Nigeria, a country on the

West Coast of Africa, with an

estimated population of 148

million (2008 Population Reference

Bureau), is the most populous

nation in Sub-Saharan Africa. It

occupies a landmass of about 923

768 km2, and is generally known to

have over 274 ethnic groups in the

Federation. The population density

is 167.49sq/km. The Government’s

desire to move closer to the people

has progressively led to the division

of the three major regions into

36 states grouped under six geo-

political zones with a total of 774

local government areas (LGAs). The

average life expectancy at birth is

47.1 years. More than 55% of the people are female and the poverty rate is about

67.8%. The majority of the people (70%) live in the rural areas, and over sixty per

cent of the young people are aged under 15 years (Population Reference Bureau,

2008). This makes Nigeria a country of young people.

Figure 6: Predicted age and sex distribution for the year 2010 for Nigeria

Nigeria


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to mobile phones generally one per household or com-

munity payphones at the market centre

z Significant distance to large commercial centres where-

by the rural residents have to travel a long distance that

cannot be accessed on foot to get there hence limited

visits to and interaction with an urban-like setting

z Limited education and health facilities – few and with

limited resources that cannot adequately provide qual-

ity services to the populace

z Ownership of assets in majority of households is quite

basic or simple and may include such things as simple

wooden furniture – chairs, beds, tables, and cupboards.

Also traditional cooking stove that uses charcoal or par-

affin, basic household utensils, a radio, bicycle, wheel-

barrow, torch and paraffin lamp

Nonetheless, at least some of the rural locations

eventually selected for the study did not quite meet these

criteria given that the level of development in general

for their rural areas was more advanced than in the other

countries. These were Ikorodu in Nigeria and Jane Furse

in South Africa. In Senegal, more than one rural site was

visited for the study due to difficulties in recruiting suitable

respondents in only one place to satisfy the targeted

sample size; many people in Senegal were quite skeptical

about participating in the study and even wanted to be

paid large sums of money if they were to do so. A brief

insight into each of the rural areas of study is as follows:

Kwale, Kenya

Kwale is a small town in Coast Province, Kenya. It is

located 30km southwest of Mombasa and 15 km inland.

It is capital of the Kwale District. The town has an urban

population of 4,200 (1999 census). It is next to the Shimba

Hills National Reserve. The colorful town of Mombasa can

be seen from Golini due to its high altitude. Past Kwale is The

Shimba Hills Hotel and Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary

running along the KWS strip. Kwale is the main town of the

Digo and Duruma. These people belong to the Mijikenda

Ethnic group of the Coast Province of Kenya. Other tribes

found in the district include the Kambas, Arabs and Indians

though to a very small proportion compared to the Digos

and Durumas.

Kwale is a very important town for small scale

farmers from the inland areas of Golini, Kinango, Mkongani,

Mwaluphamba, Tiribe and others for the sale and transport

of their produce. Among other farm products, Kwale

produces oranges, pawpaws, mangos, bixa, coconuts, a

variety of vegetables and cereals.

Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

Debre Zeit, which means ‘mount of olives’ in

Amharic is a town that lies South East of Addis Ababa, the

capital city of Ethiopia. It is a resort town that is known

for crater lakes such as Lake Bishoftu, Lake Bishoftu Guda,

Lake Koriftu, Lake Cheleklaka and Lake Hora. The area is

home to a mixture of ethnic communities of the country,

but the Oromo are the main inhabitants of the land. The

history of the town is interwoven with that of the Ethiopian

Air Force. The beginning of what later on became the Air

Force was moved to Debre Zeit from the Bole International

Airport when Ethiopian Airlines needed the airport space.

Being the national Air Force base, it is therefore common

for young men in Debre Zeit, to consider fighting as a

sign of masculinity and a source of pride as they grow up

watching airforce officers looking all ready to defend and

fight for their country. The main economic activities in

Debre Zeit are Agriculture, industry, a variety of medium,

small and micro-enterprises and hotel and service industry.

Some of the industries that have been established in

the region include the Ada Flour and Pasta Factory, the

Pasqua Giuseppe PLC and the Salmida Leather Products

Manufacturing industry.

Infrustructurally, Debre Zeit has good roads that lead

to the area from Addis Ababa but roads that lead deep into

the hinterland are rural access roads that are mainly dirt

roads. The main means of transport within the rural areas is

horse drawn carts which have a capacity of up to 6 people.

The Addis Ababa – Djibouti railway has a station in Debre

Zeit and the Harar Meda Airport is also found in the region.

Other than the Airforce training there are a few colleges

such as the Kristos College and a marine college that takes

advantage of the water bodies to train its students. There

are two main hospitals that serve the area, one serving

the public and the other serving the Airforce but there

are smaller clinics that also provide health services to the

residents of the region. A telephone service has existed

in the region since 1954, providing fixed line means of

communication that has now largely been overshadowed

by the mobile phone.

Jane Furse, Limpopo, South Africa

Jane Furse is a small town in Limpopo Province, South

Africa. It was named after Jane Furse, an only daughter of


Michael Bolton Furse, an American missionary. As

Jane accompanied her father to work, she became

sorrowfully aware of the poverty and disease rife

among the African people, hence she made up her

mind to become a doctor in order to serve them.

She however died before she accomplished this

dream, but a hospital was built in Sekhukhune land

in her memory. Jane Furse Memorial Hospital grew

in reputation and attracted a great number of staff

internationally. As the mission hospital grew, so did

the town, businesses and services around Jane Furse,

which eventually became known by the name of the

hospital.

It is administratively located in Sekhukhune

district, one of the 6 districts of Limpopo province.

The majority of its 967,126 people speak Nothern

Sotho according to the 2001 census, and the ecocomic

activities include retail and wholesale trade, farming

(especially poultry and livestock farming) and there

are also a few industries within the area. The type

of soil and climate only allows subsistance farming,

mainly of maize. The area is characterised by a flat

terrain with huge piles of rocks that stand out on

the terrain. The places that are nearest to it include

Mokwete, Ga-Moretsele, Madibong, Ga-Molepane,

Maleetse and Moripane.

Chikankata, Zambia

Chikankata is a small village located in the

southern part of Zambia. It is about two hours away

from Lusaka City by road. The main hub of activity

is the Chikankata Salvation Army complex which

houses a primary school, high school, nursing and

biomedical sciences college as well as a hospital.

This huge complex also includes housing for the

employees and guesthouses for the mission’s visitors.

Apart from the mission there are a number of primary

schools. Most of the people live and work on the

farms. For their banking needs, they have to travel to

Mazabuka Town which is some kilometers away.

Thies, Senegal

Thiès (pronounced “chess,” Wolof: Cès) is the

second largest city in Senegal with a population

officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies 60 km

east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of

railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-Louis. It is the

capital of Thiès Region and is a major city complete with in all

social amenities and manufacturing.

Saly, Senegal

Saly (also called Sali or Saly Portudal) is a seaside resort area

on Coast of Senegal, south of Dakar. It is the top tourist destination

in all of West Africa. Saly was originally a Portuguese trading post

known as Porto de Ale, which became Portudal, and later Sali

Portudal. Saly’s economy relies almost entirely on tourism. Hotel

complexes, nightclubs, bars, restaurants, shops, water sports, real

estate agencies all compete for the business of wealthy visitors

from other countries.

Mbour, Senegal

M’Bour or Mbour is a town in the Thiès Region of Senegal.

It lies on the Coast of Senegal, approximately eighty kilometers

south of Dakar. It is home to a population of 153,503 (2002

census). The town’s major industries are tourism, fishing and

peanut processing.

Ikorodu, Nigeria

Ikorodu is in Lagos State and less than half an hour away

from Lagos Town by road when there is no traffic, otherwise it

can be a two to three hours journey. It is a fast growing town and

though regarded as rural by some, it is fast developing into a fully

fledged town with many banks and businesses coming up in the

town centre. However many still have to make the trip into Lagos

daily in order to earn a living. It is cheaper to reside here and the

transport system is good.

Target Respondents

How was youth defined? A desk study on youth in Africa

recently conducted as a pre-study to the main Young Africa

study revealed that some African countries define their youth as

persons between ages 15 to 35 for policy purposes while most

African countries define them as persons between the ages of

29-40. United Nations however defines them as those between

ages 15 and 24 and Commonwealth as those between15 and 29.

For this study therefore, the age bracket of 14 to 25 was chosen;

it is closely aligned to the UN definition which some African

countries have adopted. This age range also served to keep the

research fairly focused without bringing in the risk of issues too

broad, usually brought about by very large age differences in the

target respondents. Also a stretch to age 35 or 40 posed a risk of


19

missing the mark as far as youth issues are concerned in terms

of analyzing findings and addressing issues based on an age

group that would soon be out of the youth bracket, and who

therefore Nokia would not be catering for in terms of mobile

solutions for empowerment of young people. Age 14-25 can

also be considered broad in many respects; as such this was

broken into three age sets of 14-17, 18-21 and 22-25. This

was to help make the findings more focused on issues arising

from youth who are in more or less the same phase of life and

therefore face the same challenges and opportunities and to a

significant extent have the same needs in terms of ICT, mobile

usage among others.

In line with NRC Africa’s mandate to conduct studies

amongst low income communities in Africa, the Young Africa

Study largely targeted youth who belong to lower to middle

socio-economic classes but for comparison purposes also

included a few discussion groups with youth in middle to

upper socio-economic classes. A good mix of youth in different

stages and facets of life was captured in terms of youth in and

out of school, colleges / vocational insitutions, unemployed

youth, self-employed and employed youth.

Research Methodologyand Techniques

How was the study conducted? Prior to the main study,

two pre-studies were conducted. One was a desk study whose

objective was to use secondary data to describe the situation

of youth and youth life in Africa; highlighting interesting trends

as well as gaps and / or insights that would require further

exploration. The other was a youth insights study whose

objective was to collect real time youth insights into

youth culture and lifestyle in Africa so as to form a basis

of good understanding of the youth and youth issues

hence develop a suitable approach and plan for the

upcoming main study.

The methodology used for the main study was

qualitative in order to fully explore and understand the

issues surrounding youth life in Africa in depth. The

study made use of a variety of qualitative techniques as

follows:

1. Focus Group Discussions (Mini Groups)

These were conducted with youth at central

locations. Homogeneous groups of youth were defined

and recruited to participate. Because of the interest in

both genders and possibility of sensitive issues arising

which girls would possibly not want to speak about

openly in the presence of boys and vice versa mini

groups were opted for where every main group was

divided into into a and b, the former to cater for boys

and the latter for girls. Each mini-group had a minimum

of 3 participants and a maximum of 5. Relevant topics

from the reseach questions were used to develop a free-

flow discussion guide. Use of projective techniques was

also incorporated to uncover deep seated issues. Short

simple self-fill in questionnaires were also distributed to

the FGD participants towards the end of the discussion

to enable collection of data that satisfied research

questions which were not really suitable for group

discussion such as their individual mobile phone usage.

The following tables show the group composition

for the 6 countries.

Table1: Kenya focus group discussions composition

14-17 Male 18-21 Male 22-25 Male 14-17 Female 18-21 Female 22-25 Female

Nairobi Mid to upper income

Secondary school

Mid to upper income

College

Church group

Low to mid income

Technical institute

Low income

Secondary school

School drop outs

Self-employed

Mid to upper income

Secondary school leavers

Unemployed

Low to mid income

College students

Employed /

Self-employed

Kwale Low to mid income

Primary school students

Low to mid income

Unemployed / Self-employed

Secondary school leavers

Married / Single

Low income

Unemployed / Casual jobs

Married / Single

Primary school drop outs / secondary school leaver

Low to mid income

Primary school students

Low to mid income

College students

Married with children / Single

Unemployed / Informally employed

Low income Primary school dropouts

Married with children / Single

Casual jobs / Unemployed


Table2: Ethiopia focus group discussions composition

Table 6: Nigeria focus group discussions composition


Lagos Low to mid income

College

Self-employed

Low to mid income

Secondary School

College

Unemployed

Low to mid income

University / College

Ikorodu Low to mid income

Senior Sec. School

College

Low to mid income

College

Self-employed

Low to mid income

College

Employed


Addis Ababa Mid to upper income

University

Low to mid income

Secondary school

Low to mid incomeGraduatesPart time employmentUnemployed

Debre Zeit Low income

Preparatory School

Out of school

Low income

Vocational institution students

Low to mid income

Secondary school

Table 4: Zambia focus group discussions composition


Lusaka Low to mid income

Secondary school

Low to mid income

College

Unemployed

Mid to upper income

College

Chikankata Low to mid income

Secondary school

Low to mid income

Primary school

Low to mid income

Primary school

Unemployed Married with children

Table3: South Africa focus group discussions composition


Johannesburg Low to mid income Secondary school

Mid to upper income University students

Mid to upper income University students

Employed

Limpopo Low to mid income

Secondary school

Low to mid income

College

Low to mid income

Secondary school

Table 5: Senegal focus group discussions composition


Dakar Mid to upper income

Secondary School

Low to mid income

University

Mid to upper income

Primary School

Saly Low to mid income

Primary School

Thies Mid to upper income

Secondary School

Mbour Low to mid income

Unemployed

Casual employment


21

There was one FGD for each of the chosen age sets

for both rural and urban settings in Kenya bringing the

total number of FGDs to 6 but satisfied by 2 mini-groups

each hence a total of 12 mini-groups, and one FGD for each

of the chosen age sets for either rural or urban settings in

the other countries bringing the total number of FGDs to 3

but satisfied by 2 mini-groups each hence a total of 6 mini-

groups. The respondents were recruited through the use

of a recruitment questionnaire and screener to determine

their suitability to participate in the group discussions. The

FGDs were conducted at convenient central locations.

2. General Observations and Immersions

These were general observations of young people within the various existing youth communities. These were done by the NRC researchers as a one day activity per youth

Suitable immersions were identified through the

information obtained from the pre-studies but were also

informed by more interaction with the youth through

the FGDs as well as Key Informants who helped identify

specific places to conduct the immersions e.g. the popular

nightclubs or other youth spots and other realities on the

community e.g. a school, a college, an entertainment venue, a church and / or other relevant places as were identified. For schools / colleges for example, youth were observed throughout the different activities – in class during lessons, while on breaks or lunch time, doing extra curricula activities, when school was out and the resultant departure from school, etc. The observations were combined with short informal interviews and discussions with the youth present at the selected sites either in small groups or individuals depending on the situation. Other people around the youth and who have some knowledge of youth issues and impact or influence on these youth in one way or another were also interviewed during these observations and immersions. Teachers, guardians, parents, youth leaders, religious leaders, etc were some of the possible persons in the social dynamics of the youth and who were interviewed as a result. The achieved immersions were as follows for the various countries of study:

Table 7: Types of immersions / observations

COUNTRY

Immersion Type Kenya Ethiopia S. Africa Zambia Senegal Nigeria

School / College Secular live concert Nightclub Health mobile clinic for the youth Formal / semi-formal work place with numerous young employees

Business place / jua kali area where youth entrepreneurs can be found

Shopping mall Fitness / sporting activity Religious concert Youth day (special event) Youth picnic

Total Immersions / Observations 6 3 2 3 2 2

ground that needed to be taken into consideration. The

information areas covered in these observations were

closely aligned to the particular setting e.g. in schools the

focus was more on education issues, at church religious

issues and at recreational places more on entertainment

and leisure, and at work or business the relevant / related


issues. Nonetheless other research questions were also

addressed through observations as long as the situation

arose that could feed into findings for these questions.

The researchers also made an effort to get involved with

the activities that the youth were doing so as to in essence

immerse themselves in the youth lives and experience by

doing. This also enabled better rapport between the youth

and the researchers i.e. ‘breaking the ice’ so that the youth

got comfortable in the researcher’s presence and were able

talk freely when responding to questions as and when they

arose.

In addition, during each of the FGDs conducted

observations on youth behavior, language, dressing, use

of mobile phones, mode of communication and general

behavior were accomplished.

3. Key Informants

These took the form of in-depth interviews with persons who have significant insight into youth and youth life in the countries of study. Key Informant Interviews composition was as follows:

Kenya:

z NGO Youth Programme Coordinator (Nairobi) z District Youth Officer (Nairobi) z University Student Leader (Nairobi) z Youth Coordinator (Kwale) z Program Manager - Youth (Likoni) z Muslim Youth Leader (Old Town, Mombasa)

Ethiopia:

z NGO Program Manager - Youth (Addis Ababa) z Youth Leader (Debre Zeit)

South Africa:

z Government Officer – Youth (Johannesburg) z School teacher (Jane Furse, Limpopo)

Zambia:

z Youth Consultant (Lusaka) z Social Worker (Chikankata)

Senegal:

z University Student Vice President (Dakar) z Community Youth Leader (Mbour)

Nigeria:

z Pastor (Lagos) z Community Youth Leader (Ikorodu)

4. Youth Scouts

This is a participatory technique that involves young

people being co-opted inot the research to lead their peers

in discussions around the research questions and draw

their own conclusions on these. This is important as a way

of gaining insight into how youth really see the issues;

they are unlikely to alter their answers or their behaviour

when speaking amongst their own as they might do

when interviewed by the researchers directly. Different

youth scouts were recruited to represent different youth

categories as identified through the pre-study exercises

and the different age sets that the study respondents were

divided into. They were identified and selected from the

FGDs and were trained intensively on their assignment

which was to strike up conversation with other young

people similar to them on specific subject matter relevant

to the study but in as natural a way as possible so that

the youth being studied would not get uptight or begin

to answer in a specific way. They gathered data through

discussions but partly also through observation. Having

already participated in the FGDs, they were required to take

more of a neutral stand despite leading and contributing

to the discussions so as to allow the other youth make the

conclusions on the subject matter. The youth scouts were

then required to spend some time reporting their findings

in a workshop with all the other youth scouts where NRC

staff had opportunity to interrogate the findings with them

so as to collate the findings and draw conslusions. One

week was spent by the youth scouts to gather their findings

and reporting was done the following week. In Kenya 7

youth scouts contributed to the study, 4 in Ethiopia, South

Africa and Zambia, 3 in Nigeria and 1 in Senegal.

Research QuestionsWhat was investigated in the study? The research

questions generated were distributed according to the

different techniques being applied. Some research

questions were relevant to all or more than one technique

while others were relevant to only one or two. Nonetheless

the research questions applied to the different techniques

and respondents was done to help compare and

corroborate the findings to ensure more solid conclusions

are made.


23

FGDs KIIs Immersions Youth Scouts

How youth categorize themselves and defining elements of these categories x x

Youth numbers in different places and facets of life in Africa x

African youth in the eyes of society x x x x

Challenges and opportunities African youth face x x x x

Media, communication and information exchange x x x

Report structure and contentThe following chapters of the report contain the

findings of the study. Chapter two summarises the findings

on education, chapter three on livelihoods, chapter four

on lifestyle, chapter five on media and communication

and chapter six provides conclusions. In each of chapters

two to five, relevant secondary data and past research

studies literature from the desk study have been used to

demonstrate the extent of the issues under discussion as

related to the research questions. The main qualitative

study is also presented first in terms of the main issues

identified across the 6 countries of study with relevant

country examples. This is then followed by country specific

sections which report on any extra information about the

given country in as far as the study topic is concerned

particularly any issues that may be unique to the country as

compared to the others. Verbatim quotes have also been

used within the various sections to help emphasize certain

findings and conclusions. Pictures taken during the study

have also been used within the various chapters so as to

provide the reader with actual visualization of the situation

of youth in Africa. References and sources of any secondary

data used have been provided at the end of the report.

Separate country reports (Kenya, Ethiopia, South

Africa, Zambia, Senegal, Nigeria) providing more detailed

findings and insights per country have also been written

up and are available in soft copy for those interested in

learning more about the youth of specific countries only.

Table 8: Information areas


25


Education in Africa

Everyone has the right to a basic education, including

adult basic education and further education, which a

country’s government, through reasonable measures, must

progressively make available and accessible to all its citizens.

There is a positive relationship between the quantity and

quality of primary and secondary education and economic

growth. People with education have healthier families and

reduced fertility rates. This is especially true with respect to

educating girls and women. Educated people also tend to

be more active citizens in political life. Improved human

capital is conducive to higher quality of public servants and

of public service provision (Bloom et al., 2007).

Africa has made great progress in gross enrollment

in primary education. Today more than 95% are enrolled

in primary education and about 63% complete primary

education. However, there is still an estimated more than 30

million children of school going age who are out of school

(DFID, 2006a). Demand for and participation in secondary

education is growing as a consequence of the expansion of

basic education. Average secondary net enrollment ratio

is still only 25% of primary school graduates. Less than a

third fail to complete lower secondary education to enrol

in upper secondary grades. More than 70 million children

of secondary school age do not have access to secondary

schooling (DFID, 2006a). In all of these statistics, boys are

better off than girls, urban pupils better off than rural pupils,

pupils from wealthier homes better off than those from

poorer homes. Technical and vocational education and

training (TVET) is in short supply in most African countries.

It is estimated that only 6 per cent of secondary students are

enrolled in TVET in Sub-Saharan Africa (Global Monitoring

Report, 2008). Yet, TVET is necessary to provide skills and

opportunities for young people for better employment,

in a situation where many African countries are facing a

shortage of skilled workers. Africa is seriously lagging in

tertiary education and research. In Sub-Saharan Africa the

gross enrollment rate for tertiary education is around 5%,

compared with 23% in East Asia and 30% in Latin America

(DFID, 2006b,). However, there appears to be an increase in

many African countries in investment in tertiary education,

not least in private universities.

Based on findings across the 6 countries of study,

it appears that structure of education systems is fairly

similar in terms of number of years students spend in

Chapter Two | Education

26


27

school through primary, secondary and tertiary levels

of education. In total students spend about 16 years on

average to go through the formal education system. In

terms of academic courses, at primary level most of the

countries have 9, 10 or 11 subjects with the exception of

Kenya where the subjects were reduced to 5 from 13 after

rationalization of the curriculum. In most countries English

and Mathematics are standard compulsory subjects while

the others vary from country to country. At secondary

level number of subjects is fairly similar in terms of the

number (between 8 and 11) a student is expected to take

though some countries have more variety to select from as

compared to others. Officially, the medium of instruction

is English (French in the case of Senegal) but local ethnic

languages are also used especially in rural areas and

particularly at primary level. This is also the case in Ethiopia

except that here this is official; Amharic which is the

national language is the medium of instruction in schools.

English is only used at university level and at the lower

levels is only taught as a subject. Local ethnic languages

are also taught as subjects in all the countries except Kenya

where only Kiswahili which is the national language is

taught as a subject. Generally the method of instruction

across the countries is mainly lecture based where teachers

go through the lessons of the day and often dictate notes

to the students. With the exception of South Africa which

is now implementing Outcome Based Education (OBE),

education in the other countries is largely theoretical as

opposed to practical. Even for very technical courses, some

students in various countries complained that they are not

getting enough practical experience within their studies.

In Zambia for example some engineering companies are

reluctant to employ fresh engineering graduates as they

have little experience handling the machines. Similarly in

Nigeria the students feel that they have to take the initiative

to gain the practical experience e.g. through roadside

apprenticeships.

“We have so many graduates fromthe colleges who are still in the street

because the companies say they don’t want them to experiment on our[their] machines. ‘We want someone with experience who

can actually do the work.’”

Key informant Lusaka, Zambia

Lifeskills or life orientation also considered as a

practical aspect of learning exists in most of the countries,

some like Kenya and Ethiopia having recently introduced

this in the curriculum. However many young people seem

rather dissatisfied with the content and method of delivery.

In some cases they complained of it being too general or

shallow and in some cases lacks relevance in that it does

not cover the life issues that they feel are important to

them. In terms of delivery some Key Informants said that

the teachers who are delivering life skills to the students

are too far removed from youth issues hence cannot relate

to the youth and in turn the youth are not comfortable

around them.

27


On the whole academics seem to be emphasized

more than extra curricula activities. One of the main reasons

for this is lack of enforcement by the governments in that

schools are not required to meet certain standards as far as

offering these activities. It is therefore up to the individual

schools to decide what to offer if anything and how much

time and resources they will allocate to extra curricula

activities. There is also a lack of coaches or patrons to drive

the activities. Clubs that are related to academic subjects

tend to exist and function fairly well especially in secondary

schools since there are academic benefits of engaging

students in these activities in terms of their performance.

All in all youth attitudes to extra curricula activities such

as sports and various performing arts is generally positive

but there is no room to nurture this in school and their

desire and talents are also somewhat suppressed by lack

of community support. In some countries like Senegal

sporting and fitness is a culture hence the love for sport

and practice is quite evident in youth even at an individual

level, in and out of school.

With the exception of Senegal there is generally fairly

good capacity at primary level for most of the countries

in that there are enough schools to accmodate children

of school going age. The main concern is availability of

enough trained teachers to deliver the curriculum to the

students. The advent of free primary education across the

countries of study has compounded the matter so that

student teacher ratios are quite high as indicated in table

9 below. The Africa average pupil teacher ratio is 40:1

for primary and 26:1 for secondary. In some places the

situation is quite chronic where a primary school teacher

has to deal with as high as 100 students in one class.

It appears that the teaching profession is not

attractive to many – governments are the biggest employers

of teachers yet generally pay poorly. Many teachers hence

opt to work in private and urban schools should the

opportunity arise. Also those who study teaching though

not out of choice tend to seek for employment in other

sectors.

There are generally fewer public schools at secondary

level as compard to primary hence not enough to

accommodate all students who have qualified to proceed

to secondary school. In Kenya for example hundreds of

thousands of students miss a place in secondary school

every year. Senegal presents a similar scenario. The

option therefore for such students is to enroll in vocational

training either in formal institutions or through informal

apprenticeships so as to gather some skills after which

they can join the labourforce. With the exception of

South Africa the number of public universities just like

secondary schools is not sufficient to cater for the number

of secondary school graduates.

ICT policies exist in many countries but there is a

gap between practice and policy. Few schools have access

to computers and internet use and ICT infrastructure

is generally poor especially in rural areas which are not

connected and lack electricity. There are some projects by

development organizations working towards increasing

access; they provide computers to schools though these

are mainly refurbished. IT or computer studies as a subject

also exists in some countries though its impact is minimal

since the facility i.e. computers and computer labs simply

does not exist. In addition the curriculum is somewhat

underdeveloped and there are insufficient trained teachers

to deliver the same. In Senegal however the gap between

ICT policy and practice is relatively smaller than the other

countries of study; students generally have access to

computers in school with high speed connectivity and cost

is relatively low. This can be attributed to earlier access to

the fibre optic network and active implementation of the

ICT policy by government. Senegal is widely recognized as

West Africa’s ICT hub.

“My mother is a teacher at VugaPrimary School and when I went to visit her

there one day I saw that she has over100 students in her class! I asked her whether

she is really able to cater adequately forthe needs of each of those children and she frankly said no. As much as teachers wouldlove to deliver quality to their students, the

numbers are unmanageable…”

Key Informant, Kwale, Kenya

Phew! A break from Saturday classes at last. Now we can sit around, chat and do our hairs…


29

Table 9: Structure of education, content, capacity and technology use in education

Kenya Ethiopia South Africa Zambia Senegal Nigeria

Stru

cture 8-4-4 System. Covers 8

years primary, 4 years secondary, 4 years

university

Covers 8 years primary, 2 years

secondary, 2 years preparatory, 4 years

university

Curriculum 2005. Covers 9 years primary, 4 years secondary and

4 years tertiary


junior sec, 3 years senior sec and 4 years university

EFA Curriculum (Education for All).


secondary, 3 years university.

6-3-3-4 System. Covers 6 years

primary, 3 years junior sec, 3 years senior sec and 4 years university

Cont

ent

Academic courses

Primary 6 subjects,

Secondary 9 subjects

University – variety of courses

Primary 9 subjects, secondary and preparatory 12

subjects, University – variety of courses

Primary 7 subjects one of which is an

elective technical skill, secondary

Primary 7 subjects, secondary 7 subjects

(examinable), University – variety

of courses

Primary 11 subjects, secondary 11

subjects, University – variety of courses

Primary 10 subjects, JSS 11 subjects, SS 7 subjects, University – variety of courses

Medium of instruction

Officially English. Many rural primary schools also instruct in ethnic

languages though unofficially.

At primary & secondary Amharic

and other ethnic languages; this is official. English at

tertiary level

Mainly English. The Department of Education language

policy also recognises and permits other official languages.

Many rural primary schools also instruct in

ethnic languages.

Officially English. Many rural primary

schools also instruct in ethnic languages though unofficially.

French for mainstream and

Arabic in quaranic schools, Wolof in

the rural areas

Up to grade 3 in language of immediate environment

and from grade 4 onwards in English.

Instruction method

Mainly lecture based Mainly lecture based

Mainly lecture based Mainly lecture based Mainly lecture based

Mainly lecture based

Extracurricula activities

Some activities in school exist but

without standards and with limited emphasis

Clubs related to academic subjects

tend to do well

Good number of activities exist but without standards and with limited

emphasis

Good number of activities exist but

without standards and with limited emphasis


without standards and with limited

emphasis


tend to do well

Sports is fairly well emphasized especially soccer.

Other activities exist to a limited extent


without standards and with limited

emphasis


tend to do well

Government frameworks

for interschool competition exist

Government frameworks exist

to support the activities

Facilities and equipment somewhat

limited

Facilities and equipment are

barely there

Facilities and equipment exists or can be availed but

security is a concern. That which is there is

poorly maintained


somewhat limited especially in rural

schools

Facilities and equipment barely

exist


somewhat limited especially in rural

schools

Capa

city

Schools exist; at primary level can

accommodate most; significant limitation

at secondary and university level – many

miss space after primary

Schools exist some even put up by the

communities

Schools exist but some have limited facilities

and equipment due to security issues

Schools exist though not enough; many are also poorly

constructed with limited facilities and

equipment.

Chronic shortage of schools at all

levels – government (ministry of labour) indicates difficulty in coping with the student numbers

Schools exist though not enough to accmodate all the

numbers

Shortage of trained teachers especially in rural areas – national pupil teacher ratio of 40:1 for primary and 32:1 for secondary

Extreme shortage of trained teachers

– national pupil teacher ratio of 72:1 for primary

and 54:1 for secondary

Shortage of teachers especially in public and rural schools – national

pupil teacher ratio of 36:1 for primary and 31:1 for secondary

Shortage of trained teachers – national

pupil teacher ratio of 51:1 for

primary and 34:1 for secondary







25 universities(7 public)

26 universities 23 public universities 3 public universities 2 public universities, 5 private

universities

Over 40 universities (most state owned)

Tech

nolog

y use

Limited. Poor ICT infrastructure.

Government currently digitizing curriculum

1 Million laptops initiative for university

students soon to be implemented

Limited. Some digital broadcasts of lessons using plasma screens.

School mini media for recording academic and entertainment content. Poor

maintenance of the equipment.

ICT clubs spreading across schools

Limited ICT use but mainly due to security concerns especially in

township schools

Limited ICT use due to lack of facilities and infrastructure. Public universities

are developing infrastructure e.g.

wireless.

Developmental organizations in

collaboration with government to

provide computers in schools.

ICT is an integral part of the

education system; majority have

access even out of school and wireless

connections are universal

Computer studies as a subject in schools;

not always up to date.

Limited ICT use due to lack of facilities and infrastructure.

Lack of enough trained computer

teachers.

The table below provides a summary of various education data in the 6 countries studied.


education, social education and ethics, agriculture, home

science, art and music as well as industrial, business and

physical education. Of these students were required to

select a suitable combination of 8 or 9 subjects. Some of

the vocational or talent related subjects at secondary level

were also scrapped though students are still required to do

more or less the same number of subjects; 7 to 8 in total.

In some of the public and / or rural schools, there is

no interest in the teachers to nurture talent; the students

are often discouraged to pursue their talents and are

instead told to focus on academics.

Capacity:

As in other countries student teacher ratios are

high. Statistics from the Ministry of Education indicate

that the country is currently facing a teacher’s gap of

65,000, with primary schools being the worst hit with a

shortage of 40,000 while secondary schools 25,000.

Below are additional country specific findings and

insights on education:

Kenya

Structure and content:

The 8-4-4 curriculum launched in January 1985

emphasized vocational or ‘practical’ subjects so as to enable

school dropouts at all levels to be either self-employed or

to get employment in the informal sector. 13 compulsory

subjects at primary level included Mathematics, English,

Kiswahili, Science, Agriculture, Music, Art, Craft, GHC

(Geography, History and Civics), CRE / IRE (Christian Religious

Education or Islamic Religious Education), Home-Science,

Business Education and Physical Education. After revision

and rationalization it now covers 6 compulsory subjects in

primary - Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Science, Social

Studies and CRE, and Physical Education. Ironically though,

some young people interviewed were not necessarily happy

about the changes. They were concerned that the ‘practical’

subjects are no longer available yet it is through these

subjects that they would be able to identify and nurture

their talents. This was mostly amongst the rural youth as well

as the low income urban youth who attend public schools

where there are limited extra curricula activities that can act

as the fallback for a lack of some of the practical or talent

related subjects. Indeed there were also some school drop-

outs in many of the rural groups interviewed and at least 2 of

the urban groups (14-17 female and 22-25 female). As such

the vocational subjects were quite relevant to them as their

livelihoods are now pegged to the informal sector which

requires vocational skills.

“They are still cutting down subjects yetthe whole objective of the 8-4-4 system was to

impart practical skills like carpentry but now eventhose have been scrapped … If you fail to move

on to secondary and university it means you have to find a vocational school to teach you the skill…”

Key Informant, Nairobi, Kenya

“Our school did not supporttalent – the teachers would keep telling us

to stop acting and concentrate on our studiesin class even if you were already doing well in your academics. They would not acknowledge

our success in drama festivals and in factwould do things to sabotage our

participation like not having the bus readyfor us on the days we needed to go…”

Male, 18-21, Kwale, Kenya

“My mother is a teacher at VugaPrimary School and when I went to visit her

there one day I saw that she has over100 students in her class! I asked her whether

she is really able to cater adequately forthe needs of each of those children and she frankly said no. As much as teachers wouldlove to deliver quality to their students, the

numbers are unmanageable…”


In secondary school subjects were 17 before

rationalization including English, Kiswahili, a foreign

language, mathematics, physical sciences, biological

sciences, geography, history and government, religious

Technology use:

According to media reports, the government has

plans to introduce digital learning platforms so as to make

it simpler to demonstrate some of the more practical


31

lessons and also to help bridge the gap of insufficient

teachers. So far KIE has digitized content for Form 1 in

secondary school and Standard 5 for primary school and

is moving on to do so for the other classes. There are still

a number of hurdles to be overcome in terms of capacity

building for teachers, buying of the computer hardware

and software and most importantly ensuring that the

computers are well maintained, powered and connected to

the Internet. Currently, out of the 19,000 primary schools

only 2,000 have computers out of which only a quarter are

connected to the Internet. According to the Kenya Country

Report for ICT and Education, most secondary schools have

some computer equipment; however, this could consist

of one computer in the office of the school head. Very few

secondary schools have sufficient ICT tools for teachers

and students. Even in schools that do have computers, the

student-computer ratio is 150:1. Attempts to set up basic

ICT infrastructure in primary schools are almost negligible.

Ethiopia


In the pre-European education in Ethiopia, children

in primary schools, learned to read and write. Emphasis

was placed on memorization, where elementary pupils

between the ages of 7-12 had to learn to read, write, and

recite the Dawit Medgem (Psalms of David) for about

two to three years. Next they learned to sing kum zema

(church hymns), which took four years, and msaewait

zema (advanced singing), which took an additional year

to learn. Liturgical dancing and systrum holding required

three years. Qine (poetry) and law required five years to

learn. The interpretation of the Old and New Testaments,

as well as the Apostles’ Creed, took four years on average,

while the interpretation of the works of learned monks and

priests took three years. When a student knew the psalms

by heart, he had mastered the “house of reading” and was

now considered an elementary school graduate. Orthodox

Coptic Church schools provided much needed training in

reading and writing in preprimary schools. Many children

therefore already had basic literacy skills by age six upon

starting primary school. The first postwar formal curriculum

was a 6-6 structure: six years of elementary school followed

by six years of secondary school. Adoption of the secular

education evolved into the current education system that

is not skewed to any specific religion but focuses on the

sylabus that has ben put in place by the government. The

latter system of education, in spite of a few hurdles here

and there is largely appreciated by both the youth and

the community at large. It is thought of by most as an exit

point from poverty and the only way to get a good future.

Methods of instruction and technology use:

Over and above lecture based methodology, school

mini-media is used to relay education material as well

as entertainment to students. This is an initiative of the

government that is funded and supported by NGOs and

other organizations. A mini-media center is a planned

set of materials which include tape recorders, computers,

microphones, amplifiers, and direction sheets and kits.

“Every school system works based oncurriculum, having objectives which guide it.

Hence the curriculum designers should have a great deal of knowledge about their responsibil-ity. Teachers should act accordingly. In general

everyone in the system should be a positive thinker and optimist. No school shall go for maximizing

profit. Rather it should concentrate on networking, empowering and producing good citizens”

Male, 18-21, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Students from an afternoon shift of classes in Debre zeit enjoy some chit chat as they leave school

Basic facilities available in a typical classroom in rural and public schools in Kenya


Individual students or groups of students who share similar

interests learn to prepare visuals, charts, audio and video tapes,

slides, games, books, movies, radio shows and other material

through direction sheets and kits, teacher guidance and peer

teaching. They then serve as mediators between what they

have learnt and what the other students may learn through the

center. The mini media centers are also used by the school to

make announcements as everyone within the school is able to

hear the loudspeakers.

Another method of instruction that has been adopted

by the Ethiopian government is the Plasma. Plasma is a screen

that is fixed in one classroom of every school, and is used to

broadcast academic instructions live to students across the

country. There is a time table that indicates timings of classes for

the various grades. Students therefore gather for these classes at

the appointed times. The classes are not substitutes to teachers;

the content of topics taught by way of the plasma are tested

in the national examinations. The classes are broadcasted live

from Addis Ababa for all to attend. Last year the students had a

chance to interact with the country’s prime minister through the

plasma, where they discussed various issues and had a chance to

raise their concerns to him.

There seems to be a gap between the Information

technology as taught in schools and the practical experience of

the same that the youth feel they need. Information technology

is offered as a subject right from primary school level, yet a

large number of youth, especially in rural areas expressed the

need for skills in the same implying that they are currently not

getting much out of the subject. Those that have had a chance

to use computers in school only have very basic knowledge

of it, while others have not had the chance to use a computer.

There is need for enough IT equipment for students. ICT clubs

have been introduced in at least thirteen schools in Addis Ababa

and there is intention to spread these clubs throughout the

country. Although this process might take some time, the clubs

are definitely a worthy cause as youth are eager to embrace

technology.

South Africa


Before democracy, black South Africans went

throught a system of education that was called the

Bantu education. This system of education served the

interests of white supremacy. It denied black people

opportunities and resources enjoyed by white South

Africans and promoted myths and racial stereotypes

in its curricula and textbooks. The “Bantu culture”

was presented as crude, whereby African people and

communities were portrayed as traditional, rural,

and unchanging. Bantu education treated blacks as

perpetual children in need of parental supervision by

whites, which greatly limited the student’s vision of

“his/her place” in the broader South African society.

The disparity and differences that existed in the system

of education then is still evident today, despite the

fact that all schools are open to all citizens regardless

of race. The difference in the quality of education

and facilities available for teaching is still clearcut

and students in township schools are still quite bitter

about the inequality which is one of the main causes of

some of their actions such as ‘reposession’. They steal

equipment given to schools, not necessarily because

they really need it but because they want to prove that

they can and as a means of expressing their bitterness.

Curriculum 2005 is the brand name given to the

South African national curriculum framework that is

currently used in schools. This framework adopts an

Outcome Based Education that stresses group work

and common tasks that are shared by students. The

idea behind OBE is to give a more practical experience

“If you don’t go to school youcan’t reach anywhere you want to go”

Female, 14-17, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“We don’t use the internetfrequently because it is not accessible easily and we don’t have enough skills to do so for differ-

ent advanced purposes”

Female, 14-17, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

“I think in Soweto there was an NGO or acompany called ‘Soweto Digital Village’…

you find that ok, so digital village installs this big satellite dish for the computer networks

in schools but then the computer lab ends up being dark. Because of them trying to block so

that people wouldn’t see what’s insideor trying to barricade…it ends up notbeing a friendly environment to be in.”

Key Informant, Johannesburg, South Africa


33

to the students while at the same time encouraging

interaction between students and teachers. Instruction

therefore focuses on the eventual intention of education,

which is to give students a more rounded approach in

terms of knowledge and practicals. The challenge in the

education system in SA however is that the department of

education has in the past few years changed the system a

number of times such that before one is fully implemented,

another is introduced or amendments are made on the

first one. Some students found it a bit confusing and

challenging to quickly adopt these changes.

Public universities in SA offer courses that are of a

specific kind in terms of content. There are therefore three

categories of public universities: traditional, technology

and comprehensive universities. Traditional universities

offer degree courses that are more theoretically oriented

and require minimal practicals. As the name suggests,

technical universities offer degrees in technical fields

that involve practical applications while comprehensive

universities offer a combination of traditional and

technology courses.

Capacity:

In order to combat the problem of shortage of

trained instructors and teachers, SA government uses its

colleges of education to offer three or four year diploma

courses for secondary school teachers. A number of

colleges have come to agreement with universities,

enabling endorsement of the certification of teachers.

Some colleges of education offer a Bachelor of Primary

Education degree which is conferred by a university. This

way the country gets qualified teachers for the various

levels of education in the system. The education system

in South Africa does not only focus on curriculum for the

school going age children but also offers early childhood

education, adult education, vocational training and

distance learning. This is to cater for all ages of the country’s

education needs. SchoolNet South Africa was established

in 1998 to support and advance distance learning through

information and communications technology.

Schools with special education needs have also

been established. The SA government has tried to develop

“diversity schools” to cater for students/youth with special

needs. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough schools or

qualified teachers to absorb this segment of the youth.

South Africa is one of the few countries that have a social

safety net that caters to the welfare of school drop-outs

who have dropped out because of teenage pregnancies.

Financial assistance in the form of grants is given to

legitimate cases of school drop-outs particularly girls who

have dropped out because of early pregnancies.

Zambia

Content:

The primary syllabus consists of Mathematics,

English, Religious Education, Home Economics, Music,

Integrated Science, Local Language, Social Development

Studies, Literacy (where pupils learn how to read) and

Community Studies (where pupils learn what happens in

the communities where they live). The junior secondary

syllabus consists of subjects like Mathematics, English,

Music, Art, Geography, Environmental Science, Office

practice, Home Economics, Local Language, Religious

Education, Agriculture Science, Book Keeping and

Carpentry. English, Mathematics and a science are core

subjects.

Its revision time for the boys of Chikankata High School, Zambia as they make their way to the library loaded with plenty of books.

High school students in Soweto on their way home from school. Classes end at 2:00 pm in all public schools in SA.


Capacity:

There has been a dramatic increment in net

enrollment in primary schools since 2000. This is

due to the elimination of tuition fees in primary

school although according to one key informant,

there are still hidden charges in the name of

development fees. One way that Zambia is dealing

with the large number of students is to have them

come in at different times i.e. in shifts. Students

report to school by 6:30am and start classes at

7:00am all through to 12:40pm. According to one

key informant, those who come for the afternoon

classes pay lower fees. They come in for 3 hours

from 2:00pm to 5:00pm while those in the morning

benefit from more than 5 hours of lessons. The

inability to afford fees for secondary and tertiary

levels of education however also exists and many

fall on the wayside. The basic education schools

(primary) are also expanding their capacity by

going on upto grade eight and nine (secondary

grades) so as to accommodate those who miss

places in other secondary schools. In Zambia there

is a lack of adequately trained teachers; the counter

measure especially in rural areas is that those who

have graduated from grade twelve and performed

well are employed as untrained teachers by their

respective schools to teach others.

Technology use:

The use of technology is limited to schools

near towns because of lack of ICT infrastructure

including electricity. Most schools teaching

computer will be found in the urban areas as

opposed to hard to reach rural areas. However in

Lusaka the 22-25 year old male respondents had

hardly used a computer. In their college they did

not have access to the computer lab because they

were not doing courses that required direct use of it.

Conversely, a youth scout reported that most other

college and university students own laptops, which

are available for purchase locally including second-

hand ones. It seems therefore that exposure to

technology depends on which school one attends.

In Chikankata some of the respondents were from

the Chikankata High School which has a computer

lab and offers lessons to its students.

Senegal


The structure of the Senegales education system is fairly fluid

meaning that there is no clear separation between primary and

secondary education. Vocational training is meant to give technical

skills to students and prepare them for university. The different

levels of schooling are as follows:

z Elementary/ primary – 6 years (examining/administering insti-

tution: l’école primaire)

z Middle school and general secondary – 3 years (offered by col-

lège)

z Technical and professional secondary – 2 years (offered by Lycée

professionnel)

z Higher education/university – 2 years (baccalaurèat proffesionel)

There is also a strong non-formal education system

comprising of literacy programming and community schools

usually designated for 9-14 year olds who are not enrolled in school

or who have dropped out early. Under this category, there are

koranic schools or daaras whose curriculum is entirely based on the

teachings of the Quaran. This system exists as an alternative to the

mainstream system (the French-based formal system).

“They could say that they have computer classes but when you go to the classes you find two

computers being used against thousand of pupils so the access issue is a major obstacle to

technology application in education.”

Key Informant, Lusaka, Zambia

Two girls on their way to daaras – Senegal’s alternative to the formal education system


35

Capacity:

The Nigerian educational system has been on

the decline for many years and recently the president

pledged to improve the situation. In recent years the

government has put in more funds towards education

and one respondent acknowledges that Lagos State

is improving in providing facilities such as free books

and stationery. One key informant blamed the

government for not paying teachers well and on time.

In Nigeria the teachers pay can be as low as 7500 Naira

(EUR 37.5). The highest amount that they can be paid

is 150,000 Naira (EUR 750). There is a common saying

therefore, “a teacher’s reward is in heaven”. The poor

pay has caused teachers to engage in other money

making activities rather than being present in class.

It has also resulted in many youth seeking education

in other countries. One key informant claims that

50% of the students in Cotonou, Benin are Nigerians.

Apparently the education syllabus there is better and

the time line more predictable as compared to Nigeria.

Corruption has also eroded the value of Nigerian

education. Many respondents complained of some

students bribing teachers and lecturers in order to

pass exams. Buying certificates has become common

place such that it is difficult to say who rightly deserves

theirs. As such Nigerian qualifications are on the whole

losing credibility.

Capacity:

Amongst the key problems in the Senegalese system of

education is poor infrastructure and shortage of desks, lack of

textbooks, high repetition and dropout rates, irrelevant teaching

programs (which have not changed for decades), the inexistence

of a culture of evaluation in schools, departments and regions

and a lack of trained teachers. Respondents reported that

selection and recruitment of teachers is very subjective; often

they are hand-picked by school administration. This has created

a huge competency problem in Senegal which has eventually

compromised the quality of education offered.

Lack of sufficient schools also leads to youth starting their

professional lives immediately or going into the informal system

of education. It has been reported that as at 2001, 32.5% of

children in Senegal have already began their professional lives.

Nigeria

Structure:

Those students who wish to be employed in the formal

sector in future must undergo one year of National Youth Service

Corps after university or other tertiary course.

Content:

The curriculum has undergone many changes since

independence. NERDC (Nigerian Educational Research and

Development Council) has completed drafting a new curriculum

which will be implemented starting September 2011. Among

the new subjects are ICT, Civic Education and skills acquisition

through technical education.

“Nigerian youth hardly read, insteadthey pay to pass exams and get their

certificates. You can pay your way through anything in Nigeria. Even government

officials can’t defend their certificates.”

Key Informant, Lagos, Nigeria

Saidou Nourou Tall Academié de Dakar: Catching up…Youth from an urban school “en pause” (on break). Nigeria: University students walking into UNILAG.


Perceptions and youth attitudes towards education:

Do the youth value and appreciate education?Does the society as a whole?

Generally the youth do value education across the

countries of study. They all generally seem to equate a

good education to the means to a good job hence why

they all agree that it is important to go to school. The better

education one has the better the opportunities especially

for formal employment. In addition, education is deemed

to give one better stature in the society – self confidence,

expression, acceptance and ability to interact with different

people.

In some instances, some young people interviewed

appeared not to have as much appreciation for education

as some of their counterparts. This is mainly because they

have been disillusioned by the high unemployment levels

evident by the jobless youth in their neighbourhoods

including those who have secondary and tertiary education.

There is also the need for youth to strike a balance between

education and earning a living; some youth especially those

from lower socio-economic classes sometimes opt out of

school so as to engage in small businesses, make some

money hence support themselves and/or their families.

As such they do not necessarily place the same value on

education as do those who have sufficient provision of their

basic needs therefore can focus on getting an education.

Others who already have a steady source of income do not

on the whole value education since they do not see what

further benefits education would add to their lives. A good

example is as illustrated by one Key Informant in Nairobi,

Kenya who is a District Youth Officer in the Dagoretti area.

He gave an example of how despite most youth having

completed their secondary education in Dagoretti this

usually comes with a lot of prodding and coercing by their

parents. Those who are exposed to their own income at

teen age often do not want to continue going to school

and these are such as children of slum landlords who are

allocated some rooms of their own to let out. They no

longer see the need to go to school since they are now

making their own money and many have thus dropped out.

African society as a whole generally seems to value

education although in some countries like Kenya and

Senegal, certain communities were seen not to place as

much emphasis on the importance of education because

as they argue, there are those who have succeeded

without it and on the other hand there are those who are

highly educated yet have little to show for it. Wrestling

for instance is a major money minting activity for youth

in Senegal. In Nigeria, internet fraud is a major activity in

which young people engage a lot of their time. Such youth

are referred to as the Yahoo Yahoo boys. In Kenya beach

boys and prostitution as well as drug peddling as a whole

is quite rampant especially in the coastal region and this

is another way in which youth are making money hence

opting out of school. Similarly prostitution in most other

countries; in South Africa a key informant revealed that

they were expecting an estimated 40,000 more commercial

sex workers come the 2010 World Cup in June.

“I mean look out our president (Jacob Zuma), he is not that educated but he has people writing

speeches for him. He probably doesn’t know that Jub Jub (hip hop star) killed 16 children. He will

find out weeks later.”

Youth Scouts, Johannesburg, South Africa

“As you are growing up,you can’t stay at home the wholetime for 17 years of your life…

you have to do something substantial. School is also a social place – you get your

friends there… I think that iswhere life begins...”

Male 14-17, Nairobi, Kenya

“Without education today,no man wants to listen to you.”

Male 18-21, Ikorodu, Nigeria

“Everyone should go to schooleven if he or she is a dancer, singer or

celebrity because if one didn’t go to school, during a conversation, he or she feels rejected because of his or her inability to express him /

her self. For example Drogba is nowinternationally famous because of his football. On the other hand we have Cadee who is also

very good but cannot become as famous as Drogba because he cannot express himself.”

Female 22-25, Mbour, Senegal


37

“Many people in life have made it through football.The majority of Senegal football national team are people who never went to school and have made it

in life. In Senegal the wrestlers sign contract of100 million franc (152,000 EUR), we are talking

about only 3 minutes of a fight and you have your 100 million Franc. This emphasizes that it is not only

through formal education or school that onesucceeds in life that means that school is not the

only means of success in Senegal.”

Key Informant, Dakar, Senegal

“The diplomas for us youth I would say are like mere papers because there is nothing (no opportunities) after getting diplomas. They (youth) try to do other things such as trade and enterprise after school.”

Key Informant, Mbour, Senegal

The table below shows enrollment rates for primary,

secondary and tertiary levels for the 6 countries studied.

It appears based on this that there is generally a positive

attitude towards education as a whole. Enrollment rates

have been on the increase over the years particularly

primary schools where free primary education has been

introduced such as in Kenya and Zambia. This signifies that

youth and the society to a good extent value education;

the main barrier is poverty where people are unable to raise

the fees and other school related costs especially at higher

levels i.e. secondary and tertiary. Even at primary level,

some students are still locked out despite free primary

education since there are often other hidden costs which

parents are compelled to pay in order for their children to

be enrolled (admission fees) and some ‘development funds’

that they have to contribute to every year. There are also

other societal attitudes and cultures which are barriers

to education; for instance some African societies do not

Table 10: Enrollment rates in 6 African countries

GROSS ENROLLMENT NET ENROLLMENT COMPLETION RATE

Primary Secondary Tertiary Primary Secondary Tertiary

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

KEN

2000 97.5 96.2 40.2 38.2 3.6 1.9 65.3 67.1 33.6 33

2004 111.1 104.9 49.2 46 3.4 2.1 74.1 74.2 39.6 39.9 91.5 88.6

2007 107.3 104.4 52 48.6 74.8 76.1 43.3 42 93.7 91.6

ZAM

2000 82.9 77.3 25.6 20.7 3.2 1.5 68 66.4 20.9 17.5 65.2 54.9

2004 105.3 100.7 30.8 24.5 83.1 83.3 28.5 22.2 76.1 66.1

2007 120.7 117.2 45.7 40.6 93.7 94.4 43.7 38.1 93.5 82.6

NIG

2000 100.8 80.1 26.2 21.6 7.1 5.4 66.6 54.9

2004 103 85.3 36.5 28.7 12.7 6.7 67 57.3 79.9 64.7

2007 104.5 88.9 35.2 28.4 12 8.3 67.6 58.2

SEN

2000 71.8 62 18.9 12.3 60 52.8 43.6 31.8

2004 79.8 75.5 23.3 16.8 69.4 65.7 18.4 13.2 50.2 42.7

2007 83.6 83.5 27 20.5 72 71.9 23.1 17.6 50.7 46.6

ETH

2003 to 2008 97 85 37 24 74 75 29 19 58 58

SA

2003 to 2008 105 102 93 99 86 86 70 41 77 77

Source: 1) World development indicators database 2009 at http://go.worldbank.org/KGT2YR91F0

2) http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/statistics.html


How relevant is education in Africa today?

Based on findings across the 6 countries, it seems

that education does little to prepare young people for

the realities of the job market. As discussed earlier most

of the curriculums are heavily theoretical with little or

no practical activities incorporated and are more geared

towards formal and white collar jobs. Unfortunately in

most countries the opportunities in these sectors are quite

limited hence the high rates of unemployment. In Kenya

for example the rationalization and revision of the 8-4-4

system led to the elimination of subjects that were deemed

to offer certain practical skills which a young person could

then utilize to earn a living within the informal sector.

These subjects included Art, Craft, Music, Home Science,

and Business Education. Individual areas of interest in

Kenya are also therefore not adequately catered for and

the fallback would be to pursue this through an extra

curricula activity which may not necessarily be available.

The other countries however still retain some form of

‘practical’ subjects in their curriculums though they are still

heavily theoretical and in some instances outdated. On the

whole varied interest areas are catered for by the variety

of academic subjects available for the students to select

both in arts and sciences. Some students acknowledged

that they had been able to select their subjects of interest

or those that they are especially talented or skilled in and

hence nurturing the same. There is room for improvement

though as far as languages are concerned as in most

countries schools tend to offer only one international

language. Senegal is the exception as they offer a wider

variety i.e. about 4 international languages of which Latin

is compulsory.

Because of use of lecture based approach in teaching,

many young people are also ill prepared for working life

since they have not been nurtured to think critically and

creatively. South Africa is currently implementing the OBE

system which should add value to the students in this area

though students complained that the teachers are still

struggling to learn how to deliver in this way. The desired

outcome for lecture based method of teaching is content

acquisition and conceptual understanding hence students

are compelled to focus on passing particular exams set in

a particular way. The examination systems in most of the

countries are designed to fit certain responses which the

students should deliver in order to pass. Student teacher

interactions and relationships are also not conducive to

learning so as to develop critical thinking and creativity.

Often, teachers wield a lot of power, are unapproachable

and cannot be questioned or challenged by the students.

Students in turn are therefore afraid to ask questions or

reveal that they have not understood certain concepts for

fear of being humiliated. In Zambia for instance students

were punished for not knowing the right answer. The

teachers are simply not role models for the youth; they do

not encourage the students to reach their full potential and

nurture them to do the same.

Education to some extent also fails to prepare

young people for life in general. Although most countries

are trying to incorporate some form of lifeskills or life

orientation in their curriculums, it is yet to make significant

impact due to somewhat shallow content and ineffective

methods of delivery. For example the life skills courses

are mainly taught as theory and using the same lecture

based approach as is done for other subjects; there is little

creativity in how these courses are delivered. Also as earlier

discussed delivery is also ineffective due to the teachers

who are sometimes too far removed from youth issues

hence cannot relate to the youth and in turn the youth are

not comfortable around them.

“Most people said that they don’t like life orientation as a subject. They said that it was an

unnecessary subject. They teach you general life skills but as a woman they don’t teach you how to take care of your hair. They should add more. It’s a subject you

can miss the whole year and still get an A.”

Youth Scouts, Johannesburg South Africa

believe in educating the girl child. In Senegal for example

this is a very big phenomenon and part of the culture not

to send girls to school. The disparity between male and

female literacy levels is a reflection of this culture – male

literacy is about 50% while that of females is only 29%.

Such communities would rather send the boys to school

and keep the girls at home to help out with various chores

and eventually marry them off. Some of these children will

still therefore miss out on school despite it being free and

even compulsory in some countries such as Senegal and

South Africa. In South Africa education is compulsory for

all children between 7 and 15 years of age and in Senegal

for children between 6 and 16 years. Similarly in Nigeria the

law that established the UBE (Universal Basic Education)

stipulates a 9 year formal schooling for all children though

this is not necessarily enforced by the government.


39

Most of the schools also have a heavy emphasis

on academics as opposed to extracurricula activities or

other such as life skills and life orientation. As such there

is more focus on booksmarts as opposed to streetsmarts

despite the fact that many young people interviewed

acknowledged that both are quite important. Streetsmarts

or life skills are in many instances a by-product of the

education system as opposed to being made an integral

part of learning. Despite this being the case some young

people appreciated that they had acquired various social

skills by going to school. These included such things as

expression and interaction with people, good grooming

and dressing, among others. In addition because of the

heavy focus on academics, young people who have various

talents and interests in terms of extra curricula activities are

often not adequately catered for. Nonetheless schools do

have some extracurricula activities such as performing arts

and various sports and some young people interviewed

were happy that they had been able to nurture their talents

in various areas.

Career counseling in schools is also limited or

altogether lacking in many of the countries studied and as

such contributes to the gap between school life and the

realities of the job market. Many young people as a result

do not have enough information when selecting subjects

or courses they would like to study at tertiary level. They

instead rely on advice from family and in many cases

parents often impose their personal desires and aspirations

on their children hence coercing them to take courses that

they do not necessarily have a passion and interest in.

“I can give a tick to extra curriculaactivities in primary and secondary school.

There are things like drama, music, debate… Talent is identified, harnessed

and promoted very well at this level but at university it is very poor, it exists but overall it is very very poor. We are trying to organize a talent night for our students. We have great singers here who don’t know who to show

their talent to. What will make thembillionaires is not classwork but their talent. Still society respects education and holds it

in very high esteem so our students must not neglect their classwork…”

Key Informant, University Student Leader

In such a technological age, education in many

African countries also does not offer the relevant training

and use of technologies so as to prepare students for the

job market. As seen earlier few schools have incorporated

ICTs and the infrastructure is still quite poor. Little has

been done to move beyond the policy on paper to

implementation.

Is the education in African countries inclusive enough?

There are substantial efforts that are being made

towards making education in Africa accessible to all. Over

the years various actions have been taken by the different

stakeholders – development partners and governments

in order to provide education to all; hence the advent

of free primary education in many countries which has

led to an overwhelming increase in enrollment rates. In

addition there are school feeding programmes that have

been started in various schools especially in rural areas and

urban low income schools. This has been done in all the

six countries of study. Some respondents said that this has

really encouraged school attendance since many who are

poor have nothing to eat at home; the meal they get at

school may be the only one that child will get for the day.

It has been established that one of the reasons children do

not go to school in some areas is extreme hunger which

means that they cannot concentrate in class. In some

countries there are even extra incentives built into such

feeding programmes to incorporate the families in the

community. In a past study carried out in Somali region of

Ethiopia a development organization was running a school

feeding programme whereby children got a meal at school

and in addition got a bottle of cooking oil to take home

to their families if they attended school for a consecutive

number of weeks. As such the families in the community

were quite motivated to send their children to school.

Other unique efforts also exist albeit on a small scale. For

instance in Kenya one of the youth scouts reported about

the existence of a mobile computer training programme in

“They could say that they have computer classes but when you go to the classes you find 2 computers being used against thousands of

pupils so the access issue is a major obstacle to technology application in education.”



are kept hidden. Individual parents of such children are

therefore also often at a loss of what to do with them since

there are no supportive structures either in the community

or in educational institutions.

What do youth in Africa like / dislike about school?

The table below shows some of the mentions by

young respondents of what they like and dislike about

school. It provides some additional insight into the

strengths, weaknesses and gaps of the education systems

in Africa based on the 6 countries studied, over and above

the various issues that have been discussed in previous

sections.

Kibera which is an informal settlement in Nairobi. There is a

bus with computers which parks at the bus stage in Kibera

every day and those who wish to learn computers enrol

for a minimal fee of KES 200 (EUR 2) and learn for a period

of 3 months. There are also other similar mobile schools

and mobile libraries for various courses in the different

countries especially in nomadic areas. Such initiatives

are however few and far between and cannot cater for

all the populations who are seeking to get an education.

Overall formal education still has a long way to go in terms

of accessibility to all especially at secondary and tertiary

levels. There are not enough institutions to cater for all

students and there is a disparity in terms of number and

type of insitutions available to students from different

regions; those in the urban areas have more opportunities

and variety to select from as opposed to those in the rural

areas. In the long run, how effective is formal education in

Africa if universal access is still a great challenge?

Youth with special needs are also not adequately

catered for in terms of school facilities more so at the

tertiary level and have limited opportunity to be absorbed

into the mainstream job market. The communities are

also not supportive in advocating for the rights of children

with special needs and in many African communities such

children are believed to be an abomination or a curse and

“I have many friends who are blind so I want to invent new cell phone features that aid the disabled and the elderly in their day to

day activities… its screen has a Braillesystem so it will assist the blind people.”

Female 22-25, Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Table 11: What youth in Africa like / dislike about school

KEN ETH S.A. ZAM SEN NIG NOTES

LIKES

Socialising, interacting and making friends

Learning how to be confident, express oneself and communicate with different people

Playing various sports

Music and drama

School outings and trips

Going home for mid-term and holidays

Acquiring new knowledge and gaining exposure

Free or atleast affordable education

More accessibility due to increased number and type of institutions

Removal of the cut off point for the exam at grade 8, meaning more students go onto grade nine

Variety of subjects and courses offered

Good education policy


41

KEN ETH S.A. ZAM SEN NIG NOTES

DISLIKES

Cults

Punishments including corporal forms of it in some schools.

Interestingly some respondents in Kenya were of the opinion that this is important since it instills discipline in the students

‘Bad’ food in boarding schools

Strict rules, regulations and restrictions E.g. students in Kenya are not allowed to bring and use certain personal items to school such as mobile phones, other music and electronic gadgets, clothes and fashion accessories

Theft from other students

Bullying

Sexual advances and defilement of female students by male teachers

Tribalism, ethnicity and other forms of social discrimination by the teachers and also amongst the students

Teachers with low morale due to lack of pay and lack of commitment from the government

Doing ‘irrelevant’ subjects that may not be useful later on

Examination set-up for primary, secondary and some colleges and training insitutions under

After studying for a period of 8 or 4 years, this all culminates in one final exam over a few days and this one exam is what determines your fate. What happens to those students who have performed well over the years but an unfortunate occurrence like illness on exam days makes it difficult for them to perform to their level best?

Students giving bribes to teachers to pass examinations or be given certificates.

Lack of practical training in subjects that require it

Insufficient number of books in school and also high cost of text books

Having to resit exams because of missing results

Some courses are offered only up to diploma level Some students would like to further their courses of choice to degree levels but the courses can only be furthered to diploma levels

Maths as a prerequisite to joning university – one must perform well in mathematics in order to join university

Feeling that certain courses e.g. arts do not require maths

Lack of consistency in the education system Numerous curriculum changes confuse students

Quality of education system is poor as compared to the West

Insecurity in schools Some students are drug peddlers, violent and involved in crime

Learning international languages – afterall those in the west don’t learn African languages

In SA Afrikaans is also compulsory in some schools and some don’t want to learn it.

Disparity between public and private schools in terms of facility, equipment, teachers and the quality of education

Lack of facilities such as books, laboratories and structures such as toilets

Excessive work or overload for students Engineering and Medicine degrees are now taken in fewer years than before but same content covered

Education policy is outdated and irrelevant

Lack of practicals to back up theories taught

Use of TV screens to air live lessons (The plasma) It discourages interaction and is too fast for some students. Students cannot stop to ask questions or learn at their own pace.


S tarays Academy also referred to as Starays Hope

Community Centre is an ‘informal’ school within the

Kibera slum in Nairobi just behind Olympic Estate.

The school was founded in 2004 by a married couple Jane

Okeyo and Paul Odhiambo to cater for children in Kibera

who could not afford to proceed to secondary school

due to poverty yet they had passed their KCPE exams

at primary level. Madam Jane, a graduate teacher by

profession had been working at a similar school elsewhere

as a volunteer and where she found the inspiration to start

Starays. The school’s vision is to give a second chance to

students from poor backgrounds and also those who have

experienced various life and social challenges that would

normally lock them out of the mainstream education

system. These include things such as pregnancy or early

marriage, drug abuse among others. There are girls at the

school who are mothers and so are allowed to go home

to nurse their babies at lunch hour before they get back

to school for the afternoon lessons. There was also an

incident in the past of a boy who was found smoking

bhang in school – he would go to the toilet after every

couple of hours to smoke since he was addicted and

when the manager found this out, they simply worked

out an arrangement where he would be allowed a

couple of hours before afternoon classes to go home and

smoke his bhang then return to class and hence be able

to concentrate. At the same time they still recognized

that the boy needed help and were able to get him

some counseling and rehabilitation services outside of

school. The teachers too have had problems of their

own but Starays has tried to help and accommodate

them as they are in turn willing to give their time and

effort to educate the children. Madam Jane gave one

example of a teacher who had been an alcoholic for a

long time but had eventually come to the realization

that he needed to make himself useful in the society

and therefore volunteered to become a teacher even if

he wouldn’t earn much from it. Starays is referred to as

An Educational Day at Starays Academy, Kibera, Nairobi


43

an informal school because it does not function under the

specific rules and regulations of the Ministry of Education

though there is hardly any diference between theirs and

formal schools’ educational activities. The curriculum they

offer is the same 8-4-4 and so is the national examination

which they register and sit for i.e. KCSE. So far they have

had 4 groups of KCSE candidates. On average majority of

the students attain grade C’s with a few obtaining B grades

overall. The school does not rely on any donor funding.

The students are charged fees according to their family

situation and ability to pay; some pay KES 20 (EUR 0.2) a

day, some KES 500 (EUR 5) every half month and those

who can pay monthly. No student is turned away because

of lack of fees.

All the buildings are made of corrugated iron sheet

and cement floors. Although occupying a small area, there

is maximum utilization of space. At the time of visit there

was one Form 1 class, two Form 2 streams, one Form 3

and two Form 4 streams. There is a library, laboratory,

staffroom, kitchen and administration office and

reception. There are also dormitories, the girls’ has thirty

two borders who sleep two a bed while there are about

eighteen boys who each sleep alone. The girl’s dormitory

is a small room that has small double decker beds. There

is a small bathroom on one corner with a wooden floor

that water flows through into a tunnel underneath. The

boys’ dormitory is much smaller than the girls’ and is close

to the caretaker’s room for safety and close monitoring. It

is also congested. The manager tells us that they had to

increase boarding facilities for the boys because some of

them get into bad habits at home and get into trouble

with their fathers so it is better to keep them in school at

the request of their parents. All the buildings and facilities

in the school are very modest with very simple furniture

– mostly makeshift wooden benches and tables. The

library has the only computer in the school and a small

collection of books that were donated to the school by a

well-wisher. They therefore have about 5 copies for each

class/form and for each subject for the students to refer

to when doing homework. Teachers can also borrow the

books for the students to use during lessons but they

must be returned promptly when the lesson ends. Given

the limited number of books students are not allowed to

borrow to take home hence they have to go to the library

to do their assignments before they go home or during any

free lessons or during lunchtime. These limited text books

have to be shared by all the students as most cannot afford

The modest library facility that has gone a long way in providing reading material and text books to the students

For lack of a better storage area given the limted space in the school, extra mattresses for boarders are kept on one side of the lab.


to purchase their own books. The librarian also doubles up

as a CRE teacher; she sits in the library to serve the students

whenever she is not in class. The laboratory is also a basic

one and is used for all science subjects; students therefore

do their examinations in shifts during exams as the facility

is obviously not enough for all of them at a go and for all the

science exams. There are some chemicals and equipment

stored in a cupboard on one side. They have some very

basic lab equipment such as test tubes, beakers, and

Bunsen burners which were donated by some well-wishers

but they lack more sophisticated and essential equipment

such as microscopes. There is a lab technician who sits right

in the middle of the rather empty room and there are a few

sinks along the wall and surfaces for students to work on.

The school has six male graduate teachers and one

young female untrained teacher. She is hoping to train as

a nurse at KMTC later this year. She is the one who also

doubles up as the librarian. The teachers range in age

from late twenties to early thirties. There is a manager,

Paul Odhiambo who mostly deals with the parents. Jane,

currently the head of the school is a graduate teacher and

has been offered a government position since starting the

school but she has refused to take up a well-paid position

because in her words, “I am the one who had the vision,

how can I leave?” The school cannot afford to pay any of

the staff a salary so what they get is a small stipend to keep

them going. In total there are about 300 students in the

school with about 40 to 50 students per class. The students

wear school uniform – at all times they are supposed to be

neatly dressed in green skirts (or trousers for the boys),

white shirts, green pullovers and green ties with white

stripes, black shoes and white socks for the girls, grey for

the boys. Personal grooming is also taken very seriously

for example one boy is sent home during assembly for

keeping long untidy hair with the instruction to shave it

afterwhich he may come back to school. He is therefore a

little late for his classes that day but is readily re-admitted

back since he has now shaved the hair. Later in the day

another boy is reprimanded for an untucked shirt and

loosened tie which he quickly corrects.

School starts at 7:00 am at Starays Hope Community

Centre in Kibera and ends at 5:00 pm for the non-boarders

and 10:00 pm for the boarders. The routine is strict and

emphasis is mainly on academics.

7:00 – 8:00 am preps with the teachers. This time

is dedicated to extra study, tuition and revision. Students

are expected to make it to school in time to attend these

preps.

Plastic containers for water in the lab. Lack of water is a common phenomenon in the slums.

Welcome to Starays School… Perhaps that’s whatthe sign would read at the entrance, if there were one


45

On a tour of the school with the manager. Current stop – the science lab.

8:00 – 1:00 pm regular classes with a half hour tea

break at around 11 am. On some days they have a school

assembly from 8:00 to 8:30 am hence classes start a little

later than usual. We visit various classes and sit in to go

through the lessons of the day with them and in a day

are able to go through various subjects – English, Maths,

Business Education, and History. The method of instruction

is largely lecture-based where the teacher discusses the

topic of the day and dictates notes to the students. He

has a blackboard at the front of the classroom in case

he needs to write down anything for reference. There is

some opportunity for class participation where teachers

ask questions and students can answer and similarly

students are free to ask questions to their teachers. The

atmosphere in class is quite relaxed and informal whereby

students seem quite free with their teachers and will

jovially interact with them sometimes asking questions or

introducing topics that are outside of the lessons for the

day. Most of the students also speak Kiswahili or Sheng in

class and even with their teachers. There seem to be a few

students in every class who are most active as compared

to the rest – they answer most of the questions and also

ask questions. Generally students seem to be overloaded

with assignments – every teacher leaves an assignment

and some of these are supposed to be done in the course

of the day and delivered to the staffroom yet the students

have very little free time to do the assignments; there are

some teachers who even carry out extra lessons over lunch

hour and on weekends which are said to be optional but it

is established that students feel obliged to attend so as not

to miss out.

Mostly it is observed that students of the same

gender sit together but there are a few desks where girl and

boy sit together; the students generally pick where they

want to sit as opposed to allocation by their teachers. The

classes have large openings for ventilation which is what

serves as the windows but because of the iron sheets, it

still gets quite hot inside especially from midday when the

sun is high. There is a foul smell in some of the classes

indicating that there are toilets nearby and sanitation is

generally not very good. Looking around the classes one

notices that there are different types of bags that students

use to carry their books; backpacks, small metallic boxes

and simple polythene bags. Some students also don’t

seem to have some of the necessary books and stationery

they need for their lessons; some have geometrical sets,

others just have a pen, some have large A4 exercise books

while others have smaller A5 ones with very few pages

and they write in very tiny handwriting so that they can

maximize on that small book as much as possible. Others

have very neatly covered books using brown paper while

others do not. Seemingly therefore, there are different

socio-economic categories of students even though they

all come from the same neighbourhood. For example in

the mathematics class for Form 1 as well as Form 4, the

particular lessons attended involved graph work and

not all students had graph books. In Form 4 the teacher

declined to mark assignments from those students who

had done their work on ordinary ruled exercise books

while in Form 1 those who did not have the required graph

books were warned that if they did not acquire them by

the next day they would be caned. Apparently corporal

punishment is used for students in Form 1 and 2 while the

older ones receive other forms of punishment.

1:00 – 1:30 pm Time for lunch. Students and

teachers alike have their lunch at school. There is a kitchen

with two staff members who start to prepare lunch for

the school from as early as 8:00am. The daily and basic

An aerial view of Kibera surrounding the school


meal is ‘githeri’ which is a mixture of maize and beans. For

dinner, the school prepares ‘ugali’ which is made out of

maizemeal; they eat this with vegetables. Some students

who have certain medical problems and cannot therefore

eat githeri for lunch are served with ugali and vegetables

instead. These meals cost Kshs 20 per student (EUR 0.2)

so as to ensure affordability for the majority. All students

who have paid for the lunch get a meal card which they

submit at the kitchen in order to be served. A few students

who have a little more to spend buy bhajia also available

from the school kitchen at KES 1 (EUR 0.01) a piece. The

administration decided to introduce this option so as to

avoid students going outside of the school compound over

lunch hour seeking alternative meals; this way they avoid

time wastage and students can quickly settle back to class

after lunch for more lessons or assignments.

During this time we get to engage with various

students and find out more about school life from their

perspective. One boy in Form 4 shares his experiences.

Apparently he is not completely convinced about the value

of the education he is getting and basically why he has to be

in school. His father has forced him to come to school and at

that become a boarder so as to keep him away from negative

influences of other youth in his neighbourhood who have

dropped out of school. He comes from Kawangware

which is another low income area and informal settlement

in Nairobi. He acknowledges that with his education

he is better off than his drop-out friends because of the

exposure, confidence and general knowledge that it has

given him and so he will have better survival skills in terms

of livelihoods than they will. However he still feels that he

is missing out on life out there especially the opportunity

to hustle and make money. He would also like to have

a mobile phone in school so that he can keep in touch

with the world out there and perhaps be able to run his

businesses but alas mobile phones are strictly forbidden

and anyone found with one faces serious punishment

and the phone is destroyed or thrown into a pit latrine.

He concedes though that there are still some students in

school secretly keeping and using their mobile phones

but its tricky and one can easily get caught especially if

you fall out with some students who would then sell you

out to the administration. On extra curricula activities

and clubs, he says there is not much at their disposal

because the school is more focused on academics and

there is little physical space anyway for sports. The most

active clubs therefore are also those that are related to

academics such as Maths club, Science club and Debate.

They receive a lot of recognition and support from the

school administration and they also do not require a

lot of space for their activities. Generally the school

atmosphere is friendly though he reveals that for the

boarders there is sometimes some underlying animosity

between students of different tribes hence people tend

to prefer to hang out with their own. Another female

student also shares her experiences. She is now in Form

4 but she joined the school only a year ago after having

been transferred from a rural school. She says she is very

happy here; apparently she finds the teachers at Starays

to be very committed to delivering quality education to

the students whereas in her old school teachers were

rather demotivated and didn’t really care about teaching

the students. According to her the students at Starays are

also very focused with their studies and this helps keep

everyone in check. About subjects and subject choices,

she says there is not much guidance to students as to

Out for a break – students gather around the kitchen area trying to get a bite

The plot adjacent to the school which they hope to acquiresoon for expansion purposes.


47

how to select subjects to specialize in when they get

to Form 3. As such there is some confusion whereby

students keep switching from one subject to another

before they finally settle to one and in the process miss

out on a lot. This is partly driven by fear especially when

it comes to tests and assessments and partly by lack

of understanding of what selecting a certain subject

means in terms of tertiary studies and future careers.

This particular girl says that she made her selection of

subjects based on some advice from her big brother; he

simply told her to select subjects that are relatively easy

to pass; subjects that would not be difficult for her and

that is what she did.

1:30 – 2:00 pm Students go back to class for any

additional lessons or to the library to read or complete

assignments.

2:00 – 4:00 pm Regular classes resume. Because

of the limited number of teachers in the school, it is

common to see students from the different streams of

a given class all congregating into one classroom for a

given lesson. For example there was only one English

teacher at the time hence the two Form 4 classes all

came together into one classroom to have the lesson

together. The lack of textbooks is another challenge

that is quite evident. It is therefore not unusual to see

4 to 5 students huddling around one textbook trying to

get the benefit of the lesson. There is a railway line just

adjacent to the school and because of the deafening

noise of the passing trains this creates some disturbance

very early in the morning and in the afternoon usually

towards the final lessons of the day. We experience one

train passing at about 4pm. The teachers have to stop

speaking if they were in the middle of a lecture until

the sound subsides with the train disappearing into the

horizon. They all seem to be used to this as part of their day

to day experiences.

4:00 – 5:00 pm Games, club activities or prep

afterwhich non-boarders go home. The school manager

explains to us that they sometimes have some football

practice in the field across which they have been allowed to

use by the owners. They have not got round to doing this

for this school term however. He continues to explain that

students at the school have various talents, passions and

interests especially in the arts but unfortunately they have

not been able to nurture these through regular activities.

He says this is partly due to the lack of space but also a

lack of teachers who have the same interests and passions

therefore can take up these activities as the patrons

and drive them successfully. Nonetheless whenever

opportunities arise for their students to take part in certain

arts related competitions or the like, they take them up and

prepare the students to participate. They are usually not

the initiators; anything they have participated in, in the

past has been initiated by other schools or organizations

and to which they were officially invited.

We leave the school just before 5:00pm as the day

draws to a close. As reported to us by the school manager,

the remainder of the evening for students who are boarders

is spent as follows:

6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner for the boarders

7:00 – 9:00 pm Prep for boarders

9:00 – 10:00 pm Prayers / Christian Union Meeting

10:00 pm Boarders go to sleep.

The only computer in the school. Limited ICT facilities means that students miss out on critical technological aspects of learning.Assignment completion and study time in the library


School type:

This is a middle basic school, meaning it runs from

grade one to grade nine. It has three levels of education

namely lower primary (grade 1 - 4), upper primary (grade

5 - 7) and junior secondary grades (8 - 9). The school is run

by a female head teacher assisted by a deputy and heads

of various departments such as math department, English

department and so on. It has senior school teachers and

ordinary teachers. The school is mixed both boys and girls

and by observation the numbers are quite equal.

The students wear uniform although some students

wear sports shoes instead of the required regular black

shoes. Others in the grade seven class that we sat in had

worn out and even torn uniforms perhaps a reflection of

their low income background. Obviously the school is not

too strict in this regard as this would lock many students

out. However no necklaces, neck chains, fancy hair styles

or other improper dressing is allowed.

The teachers are held in utmost respect and pupils

must stand up each time a teacher enters the classroom.

In fact students who were late for the first morning

lesson, knocked, came in and knelt before the teacher

as they asked for pardon. Other rules are that pupils

will take part in sports, academic, social and production

unit activities as may be arranged by the school. The

production unit is when the school engages in farming

activities like during the previous school term when the

school had a thriving vegetable garden.

School programme;

The school day starts at 6:30 am when pupils

report to school and start by cleaning the classrooms

and the surrounding. They then assemble briefly before

going in for the first lesson at 7:00 am. At 9:40 am there

is a twenty minute break. They resume again and break

off at 12:40 pm. (Another lot of students will come in at

Student life and experience at Chikankata Basic School, Zambia


49

2:00 pm and knock off at 5:00 pm). The ones who leave at

12:40 pm will come back at 3:00 pm for clubs, cleaning and

other activities until 5:00 pm.

The head and deputy head teachers meet daily

for a briefing while a staff meeting is held every three

weeks. Every Monday there is also assembly to make any

important announcements to the pupils.

What they study;

The primary syllabus consists of subjects like

Math, English, Religious Education, Home Economics,

Music, Integrated Science, Tonga (local language), Social

Development Studies, Literacy and Community Studies

(learning about what happens in their community). The

junior syllabus comprises subjects like Math, English, Music,

History, Art, Geography, Environmental Science, Office

Practice, Home Economics, Tonga, Religious Education,

Agriculture, Science, Book keeping and Carpentry.

The teaching method is mainly the lecture method.

Teachers explain the topic and give a few examples on the

board and then give a few questions which are then done

in class and for home work. The reason for this seemed to

be the lack of enough textbooks. In grade seven pupils are

seated in groups of eight to ten around two tables joined

together, facing each other (see photo). They then share

one book among four pupils if not more. The books are

distributed at the beginning of class and later collected

so the teacher has to write the homework exercise on the

board. Similarly for subjects like Social Development, the

teacher has to write the notes on the board so that the

students copy. The seating arrangement also differs in

Teachers have to make their own visual learning aids such as these charts in a grade seven class in Chikankata basic school.

This is the school block which is still undergoing somerefurbishment hence the missing doors and window panes.

Students crowd over the obviously limited number of textbooks to do exercises in Chikankata basic school.

some classes; in some, bright students are placed in each

group so that they may help others while in some classes

the brightest students sit together then followed by the

next brightest such that those who usually lag behind sit

together in one group. We observed that one table always

raised their hands to answer questions while the table

with the pupils who do not perform well, looked almost

lost and hardly raised their hands to answer anything.

Extra curricular activities;

There are social clubs like debate club, anti-aids

club, drama club, school choir and junior engineers,

technicians and scientists club (JETS)

There are sports clubs; football, netball, volleyball,

athletics, long jump, high jump and triple jump club.


There is also preventive maintenance i.e. where

pupils clean up the school and work in the garden.

Interactions

The teachers are dedicated in their work and want

the pupils to understand what they are being taught.

Slow learners are given special attention. If they are

having difficulty understanding, the teacher for instance

may explain the point in mother tongue. The students

are also eager to learn and look up to their teachers

with a lot of respect. They look to them to guide them

towards a better future. Pupils who come out top of their

class are awarded to encourage others.

The students group themselves according to

status and seem to feel that those from well to do families

look down on others. They also form study groups to

help each other to perform well and also help each other

perfect their skills e.g. in football, netball.

ICT use

The school does not have computers. Only a

small number of pupils have mobile phones but these

are not permitted in school. The most common medium

After school activities in Chikankata basic school. Dance, dance, dance… as teacher and other pupils look on.

of communication therefore is face to face. English is

spoken in class but at breaks one will hear Tonga being

spoken.

Pupils’ comments

Some common problems among them are the lack

of school shoes, mathematical sets and exercise books.

Some of them do piece work like watering vegetables at

the Chikankata mission to earn some money.

Some students would want to change the class

time to begin at eight because they have to walk long

distances to school. Similarly those who live far away

would want to be exempted from extra curricular

activities in the afternoon because this means arriving

home late in the evening.


51


53

The main market. Mbour is one of Senegal’s largest cities with a vibrant informal business trade


Chapter Three | Livelihood

Youth unemployment rates are about three times

the unemployment rates of older adults in Africa

(ILO 2006). Youth unemployment is higher in ur-

ban areas than in rural areas which clearly points out the

substantial difficulties of youth participation in the labour

market. The number of unemployed youth grew by 30%

from 1995 to 2005. In addition to the unemployment rate,

which is measured in relation to the labour force, a large

part of youth in Africa can be classified as “inactive”, i.e. not

part of the labour force (under education or completely

outside the labor force). Youth make up 43.7% of the to-

tal unemployed people in the world despite accounting

for only 25% of the working population. In fact, in Sub-

Saharan Africa, 3 in 5 of the total unemployed are youth

(ILO 2006). Most young Africans in work have employment

that is characterized by long hours, low pay and no secu-

rity. Many young people working in the informal sector

are “working poor”, i.e. earnings are still below US$1 a day

(DFID, 2006b).

Youth are more likely than older adults to be in the

informal sector, and less likely to be wage employed or

self-employed. For example, in 2005, 81.4% and 12.5% of

Ethiopian youth were in the informal and self-employment

sectors respectively, against 43% and 49.6% of adults (ILO

2007). Young people are more likely to work longer hours

under intermittent and insecure work arrangements, char-

acterized by low productivity and meager earnings. Un-

deremployment is more prevalent among youth than older

adults, and is more prevalent in rural rather than urban ar-

eas. Youth are employed primarily in agriculture in which

54


55

more effective in the utilization of local social and natural

resources using simple and affordable production technol-

ogy. Also, MSMEs are better positioned to satisfy limited de-

mands brought about by small and localized markets due

to their lower overheads and fixed costs. Although micro,

small and medium scale informal businesses are dynamic

and employment generating entities, they are not socially

and economically preferable jobs. This results in a kind of

frictional unemployment where the young job-seekers pre-

fer large companies and therefore tend to wait for a satis-

factory job to come up.

Many micro and small sized enterprises in East Af-

rica are informal because the administrative procedures for

business registration are too cumbersome, long-winded or

costly. The barriers to setting up new businesses are par-

ticularly high for young people who on the other hand face

complex entrepreneurship barriers. These structural prob-

lems include: the lack of voice and representation; and lack

of access to credit due to lack of collateral that banks re-

quire for a loan. Isolation and lack of support are problems

many young women and men entrepreneurs experience

and this often prevents them from gaining a foothold in

modern business.

they account for 65% of total employment. In rural areas

the youth work longer hours and spend a lot of their time

in household work. In rural Ethiopia for example, they work

43 hours a week in contrast to the 31 hours worked in urban

areas. Of those 43 hours worked, the rural youth spends

31 hours in household work (fetching water, collecting fire

wood, and other domestic activities), in contrast to the 22

spent on these tasks in urban areas. Rural youth attached

to agriculture are disadvantaged in terms of employment

status as compared to those engaged in non-farm activities

(ILO 2007).

In practice, there are many complex structural and

frictional constraints related with lack of employability

(Semboja 2005). These include preference by employers,

lack of work experience during school years; poor quality

in the education; inadequate preparation of the youth in

career development and low level of information technol-

ogy. The art of taking a business endeavour where one

becomes self employed have become a challenge to most

young people. Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises,

(MSMEs) are in both formal and informal sectors engaging

in farm and non-farm economic activities such as manufac-

turing, mining, commerce and social services. MSMEs are

55


Youth and money

Like everyone else, youth say they definitely need

money. What for? This ranges from basics like food,

clothing and shelter to other secondary needs and

wants such as entertainment, mobile phone and airtime,

transport, among others. The priorities depend on age, life

circumstances, culture or family socio-economic class. As

such some young people’s prioritization may not need to

cover basics such as food, shelter and clothing hence the

things that one would consider secondary then become

the priority for them when spending their money. On

the other hand some youth may need to contribute to

family needs because of poverty and / or a culture of

dependency where families simply expect their young

people to provide for them even from a fairly young age.

This is quite evident across the countries of study. For

example in Senegal, a young person aspires to build a

house for his parents and ensure that they are well catered

for financially before taking care of his own personal

needs and desires. Similarly in other countries, there are

various manifestations of the dependency culture.

The dependency culture can be said to be

counterproductive to the African communities despite

having some good intentions. Some youth felt that

they were being held back from personal development

and success because of the constant need to provide

for family. It also has negative effects on the very

same communities who are being supported in that

they become complacent and unproductive.

On a personal level some of the things that youth

spend their money on include clothes, shoes, airtime,

busfare, entertainment / social costs (e.g. alcohol, music,

cigarettes, clubbing). Those who are living on their own

also spend money on other basic needs like rent and food.

The desire to satisfy these personal needs and wants is

quite strong amongst the youth yet at the same they have

family expectations to meet hence youth are quite good at

juggling and stretching the little money they have to cover

all the needs. There was not much evidence of youth making

a conscious effort to save and invest for the future; it seems

that they are generally spontaneous in their spending,

live for the moment and are short-sighted about the

benefits of making solid financial plans for the future.

Where do the youth get their money? Many get

money from their parents especially the younger ones

(14-17 and in some instances 18-21), particularly those

still in school or college and of better socio-economic

standing. The amounts of pocket money or allowances

vary a great deal depending on socio-economic status and

living arrangements for the students in boarding school

or college. This also varies from country to country. The

amounts ranged from EUR 5 to EUR 3000 in Kenya per term

or semester, EUR 5 per week in Nigeria, and EUR 32 to 48

per month in Ethiopia. Some have come up with ‘creative’

“There are very high expectations,very high expectations. Though they know your salary is very small you have to give,

you have to educate your younger ones, you have to help in terms of buying clothes and shoes and when holiday comes you have to buy some things - some animal to slaughter. You sometimes have to say what you earn.”

Key Informant, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“Young people hardly ever save. Campus students are living large yet most of us here come from lower to middle income backgrounds. When the Higher Education

Loans Board loans come through you should see what happens… Everyone has bought woofers, music systems but no computers!

Some of them get the money andactually pay school fees for their siblings but most are just spendthrifts and later run into problems when they have to pay their school fees and other expenditure to sustain them

at school which is what theloan was meant for in the first place…

I think society has let young people lose…”

Key Informant, Nairobi,Kenya

“It is the general disease affecting black men. Once they have money

they want to show the world they have money by the kind of car, house, shoes and clothes. They would prefer to go where they sell a bottle of coke for

5000 Naira instead of buying it where they sell it for 50 Naira just to show they are rich. It is mainly a Nigerian

thing anyway.”

Key Informant, Lagos, Nigeria


57

ways of having sufficient money to cater for

needs that their parents or guardians will not

necessarily finance. These are such as keeping

change when sent to purchase something,

walking certain distances instead of spending

the busfare provided, skipping meals,

overstating amounts required e.g. for school

fees or other school related costs, money from

politicians, selling certain items in their homes,

prostitution (including sugar daddies and

sugar mummies) and internet scams. Some of

the Key Informants particularly at the Kenyan

Coast shed some light on some of these sources

of money that the youth are making use of

mostly out of desperation and frustration;

other ‘acceptable’ sources are either non-

existent for them or are failing to yield sufficient

amounts of money from which they can live a comfortable life.

Other youth earn wages from informal / casual jobs or doing

their own small businesses so as to make some money to keep them

going. Some of the examples mentioned were hairdressing, farming,

community services like selling water, managing public toilets and

bathrooms, weeding farms and slashing grass, making bricks for

construction and digging pit latrines, running errands, performing

arts, selling snacks and food, doing laundry, burning and selling CDs

for music or movies, selling scratchcards for airtime, photography

and fine art, masonry, tour guide, among others. In terms of monies

earned, the youth in Kenya reported that for doing laundry they

could earn about EUR 5, for live gigs (performing arts) they could

earn between EUR 2 and 5 per gig because they are usually in groups

therefore have to split the earnings. In Zambia youth were able to

earn EUR 4 per hour for piece work (chores, construction, farming, etc)

and EUR 16 per week in Nigeria for handicrafts, EUR 7 per week for an

apprentice cobbler and EUR 6 per day for onsite construction casual

workers while in Zambia such labourers were paid EUR 48 per month.

In Senegal youth said they can make wages of EUR 0.7 to 3 per day in

urban and some EUR 7.8 per week also in urban areas. There are also

those youth who are formally employed or self-employed especially

in the upper age bracket (22-25) and therefore earn a monthly

salary. In rural South Africa youth earnings ranged from EUR 10 to

37 per month and in urban EUR 53 to 213, EUR 48 per day in Nigeria

(business owner), EUR 80 to 160 in Zambia and in Kenya EUR 250.

Livelihood opportunities; do they exist?

Formal employment opportunities are few and far between

in most African countries as such a good formal education does

not necessarily translate into a ‘good’ job in the formal sector. The

landscape is extremely competitive given that population growth

rate is expanding faster than economic growth rate and the pool of

qualified professionals is getting bigger every year due to increased

emphasis on education by various stakeholders. In addition, there

appears to be a livelihood tug of war between the older and younger

generation. Employment opportunities are withheld from the youth

because there is preference for people who have more years of work

experience hence fewer opportunities for fresh graduates. Also, some

of the older generation who are in employment have worked their

way up through the ranks and continue to maintain the positions

despite the fact that they may not necessarily possess the professional

qualifications that some of the youth now have. Employers are also

not willing to invest in training and developing the youth in the

workplace; there is a feeling that the quality of graduates coming out

are not particularly well prepared in terms of practical experience and

skills as well as knowledge of the realities of the work environment.

“When you get money from an older man you will always have that guilty conscience because you cannot get

anything for free. No man can give you anything for free.”

Female 18-21, Lusaka, Zambia

“There are no jobs here in Kwaleand many young people havedropped out of school so theydo not have a good education

background that canguarantee them a good job.

Even those who have gone to school are unemployed… The trend now

is that many young men arebecoming beach boys… In reality there is no work that they do at the

beach, the truth is that they areGigolos and the reason they hangout at the beach is to look for old

European women who then finance their every need. Some of themare even married but because of

hardship have come to an agreement with their wives that they can takeon these rich European women and get some money for the family…”



There is a strong desire by many young people to

make a shift to self-employment. This is driven by their

acknowledgement of job market realities such as lack of

opportunities. In addition students do not necessarily have

a say in the courses they pursue at tertiary level – this is often

dictated by cut-off grades, family or teacher influence and

subjects studied at secondary level. On completion of their

studies, the rigidity of the job market also does not allow

them to break out of their area of study and explore or pursue

other interests and ambitions. They are therefore locked in

a career that is in line with their study discipline which they

may not necesaarily have a passion for. Self-employment

is therefore an option for such young people as it is more

likely to offer them the flexibility to venture into other areas

of interest as they so desire. Being in formal employment

is often not enabling of exploration of other talents, skills

and interests outside of the workplace in terms of time

and general support. There is also an inherent ‘old school’

approach to tasks and activities in the workplace which

stifles young people’s creativity; they are seldom allowed

to weigh in on important decisions and activities.

The desire to shift to self-employment is also driven by

personal factors or realities such as education background,

skills, talents, personal interests and passions, creativity

and innovation. Some of the respondents who had only

primary education and / or secondary education were quite

“We have so many graduates from thecolleges who are still in the street becausethe companies say they don’t want them to

experiment on our[their] machines.‘We want someone with experience who

can actually do the work.’”


“They don’t encourage creativity.For example if you want to be a musician, families still consider music as very bad

work so you don’t do such… ‘please study hard, study the formal things (as would be said by parent). So it starts from the family. In your workplace from your boss if you try to do an assignment in your own creative way your boss might not be happy so such

pressures are a big challenge.”


aware that the option for them lies in self-employment

and many of them were already actively engaged in one

entrepreneurial activity or other. Others were evidently

trying to make use of their talents to earn a living.

Young South Africans and Senegalese are an

exception as compared to youth from the other countries

of study. In South Africa key informants were of the opinion

that the youth have not clearly seen the big picture and

understood what self-employment encompasses. They

perceive it to be only the small menial jobs that they

don’t want to be associated with. Hence with a wider

understanding they would probably have the same desire

for self-employment as do youth in the other countries.

Some of the reports by the youth scouts in South Africa

support this. They said that the youth have numerous

business ideas but the problem is that they tend to think

too big and want to start at that level as opposed to

starting small and growing it hence never implement their

ideas. Similarly in Senegal some youth argued that the

common belief that it is not possible to succeed in their

country because there are no opportunities for the youth is

not entirely true since there are immigrants from countries

such as Mauritania, Guinea Bissau and Guinea who are

engaged in micro enterprise and succeeding at it.

“In Senegal we have manyyoung people who leave school

very early and give themselves to sports. Many people have made it in life through football. In fact majority of the Senegalese football team are people who never went to school

and have made it in life.”


“I think South Africans arevery intelligent. They have a lot of

ideas and if we had to come up with 6 ideas each, we would probably

come up with 100. But we just don’t carry out because we probably know it is gonna fail. You just think ‘hm-mmm where do I start?’ and that’s

where it ends.”

Youth Scout, Johannesburg, South Africa


59

Despite young people’s interest in self-employment,

there are challenges and obstacles that they face that

make it difficult for them to make the shift. Some of them

have a lot of fear and lack confidence fueled by lack of

experience, business start-up know-how and associated

risks. This is partly due to a failure in the education systems

whereby there is hardly any entrepreneurship training and

mentoring to prepare young people for this field. There

is also lack of access to start-up and expansion capital

as youth do not have collateral for loans from financial

insitutions among other formal requirements. Many youth

in some of the countries of study were keen to go into self-

employment but felt that they first need to be formally

employed for some time (on average 5 years) so as to

gather experience and save some money before venturing

into their own businesses. In Ethiopia, most young people’s

immediate choice was for self-employment the obstacle

being the capital to start. Some country governments

are making efforts to avail business capital to young

people though on the whole this is yet to make a noteable

impact. In Kenya for example, the Youth Enterprise Fund

was introduced to give loans to groups of young people

to implement their business ideas. However they were

required to submit convincing proposals which many

did not even know how to put together. The money was

also to be disbursed to groups rather than individuals and

this brought about other challenges of group dynamics

which many youth were unable to manage. In addition

the amounts given were rather low (EUR 500) per group

hence starting and sustaining a successful business which

would be a source of livelihood for all the group members

and still manage to repay the loan proved to be quite

difficult for most. As such the whole fund turned out to

be unsustainable as most of the loans were never repaid

and as a result other young people have not benefited

from subsequent loan disbursements. Similary in Ethiopia

there is a government fund whereby loans are disbursed

to the youth through regional cooperatives. The youth

also have to be in groups hence have experienced similar

challenges as their counterparts in Kenya. However

unlike Kenya there has been significant sustainability

and impact from the loans since the youth are at least

offered training to help them manage their businesses.

There are also other initiatives related to job

opportunities that have been started by governments

and development organizations. In Kenya the Kazi Kwa

Vijana which was a nationwide initiative which was meant

to employ 200,000 to 300,000 Kenyans, primarily the

youth who were at risk of hunger and starvation so as to

enable them earn income to buy food and other basic

items as well as to support their families. Youth were

employed in jobs such building water dams and irrigation,

repairing boreholes and access roads, clear bushes, plant

trees and sow seeds. There is also the recent Jobs Abroad

Programme by the Kenyan Government aimed at sending

10,000 people to work abroad so as to alleviate the

unemployment problem. So far 390 young people have

been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. In Senegal the Ministry

of Public Functions and Employment in conjunction with

the Ministry of Education have come up with initiatives

to help create jobs for young people ‘National Politic for

Young People’. Similar to Kenya where we have KKV, the

Government of Senegal has set up a public works program

to cater for unemployed youth with the aim of providing

short-term employment through labour-intensive private

works such as construction, rehabilitation and maintenance

of public services and provision of essential services.

During the 1st phase of the program, approximately

80,000 jobs were created for young people in 416 projects

in microenterprises. Overall 3,226 projects have been

implemented resulting in the creation of 350,000 temporary

jobs perannum. These projects also led to the establishment

of 6,000 permanent jobs. But do such jobs really provide

long-term opportunities and impacts for the youth or

are they just a source of cheap labor for the government

to undertake infrastructure projects? Apprenticeships in

Senegal are also a good model for providing the youth

with post-primary training and integrating them into the

informal economy. If properly organized, they will meet

the needs of Senegal to stimulate the creation of jobs and

activities for the young generation. These reforms would

for instance link formal and informal training and aim to

develop a comprehensive and integrated training system

that would ensure the maximum number of Senegalese

youth acquire skills needed to stimulate the informal

economy. This would also encourage the shift from survival-

based approach to development-based approach.

Below are further country specific insights on

employment and livelihoods.


According to the National Youth Policy (2006),

the economic growth rate has not been sufficient to

create enough employment opportunities to absorb the

increasing labour force of about 500,000 annually. Only

about 25% of youth are absorbed, leaving 75% to bear the

burden of unemployment. Furthermore, some of those

absorbed in the labour market have jobs that do not match

their qualifications and personal development goals.

The youth in Kenya account for about 32% of the

population or 9.1 million. Of these, 51.7% are female

youth. These form 60% of the total labour force. Despite

this, opportunities are very scarce to

absorb them in the job market. These

young people are a potential resource

for growth and social development if

gainfully and productively engaged.

The majority of the working populations

are engaged in agriculture as their

main occupation, where 71% of the

working population are subsistence

agricultural workers. The professional,

semi-professionals and administrator

categories collectively constitute 7% of

the total working population, while the

sales and service workers are 9% of the

total working population.

Youth unemployment in Kenya is on the increase

as is under-employment. An increasing number of youth

is moving to urban centers but are unable to find work,

suggesting that this is due to lack of skills and working

experience, but also that the urban Kenyan economy is

unable to absorb the potential work-force (Manda 2003).

The ILFS 2000/2001 (quoted in Semboja, 2007) shows

youth unemployment rate is about four times the older

adults’ unemployment rate and is growing at double the

rate for older adults’ unemployment.

Kenya

Youth at work in the newsroom at Pamoja FM community radioKenya

Appreciating other young people’s artistic works displayed for sale


61

44% percent of the country’s population is below

the absolute poverty line. Under this situation of poverty,

the youth is the hardest hit segment of society. The

widespread unemployment prevailing in the country is

the main expression of poverty. In this poverty related

situation, the variance between skilled human resources

supplies on one hand and demand on the other has further

widened the gap.

The national labour force survey conducted in 1999

by the Central Statistical Authority indicates that 1,890,249

persons in the age range of 15-64 are unemployed.

Out of this 1,260,177 (67%) are youth. The number of

female unemployed youth is 899,426 (71.4%) and the

corresponding number of males is 360,751 (28.6%). The

fact that majority of the unemployed youth constitute

females indicates the magnitude to which young women

are the main victims of the problem. The view regarding

the alleviation of the problem, especially the perception

that the government alone would resolve the problem of

unemployment has been a cause for aggravating that very

problem.

Although sufficient data and information on the

situation of rural and urban youth engaged in the informal

sector are not available, it is assumed that rural youth

could deploy themselves in off-farm activities. Similarly,

as a finding of one study conducted in urban areas to

establish the number of people engaged in the informal

sector indicates that, out of 146,460 persons engaged in

this sector 64,441 or 44% are youth. Large numbers of rural

youth are migrating to urban areas due to abject poverty

and in search of better opportunities (World Bank, 2009).

A street in Mercato, the market. Religion, tribe, socio-economic class and levels of education are unknown

here. The market is maximally used by all to the extent that supermarkets are not quite relevant.Ethiopia

Transportation – Horse drawn carts are

the most common means of transport

in Debre Zeit. Tuk Tuks are also used

by commuters and lorries for transiting

goods and heavy material.

61


The South African economy was reported to be growing

at an impressive annual rate of 4.5% since 2004, up from

a mere 3% average from 1994-2004 (it is acknowledged

that this trend has however, been impacted on by the

current global financial crisis). However, there are concerns

that the increase in employment numbers is insufficient to

absorb the current (and growing) labour force. Concerns

have been raised about youth unemployment, which was

estimated at 50.3% for 14 to 24 year-olds and 29.5% for

25 to 35 year-olds in March 2006. Even though this figure

constitutes a fall of about 2% from the previous year, it is

worrying that there is still a significant number of young

people who are unemployed and therefore vulnerable to

poverty (Trialogue, 2007). Morrow et al (2005) estimates

that 65% of the four million young South Africans who

were part of the labour force were unemployed in 2005.

This rate is among the highest rates in the world. One third

of all youth are living in poverty, and approximately half

of this one third live in extreme poverty. In 2007, almost

two-thirds of youth aged 15-24 lived in households with

expenditure of less than R1 200 per month (EUR 120), as

did approximately 60% of youth aged 25-34 (Labour Force

Survey, 2007).

Youth poverty in South Africa is attributed to

continuous unemployment (Morrow et al, 2005). Poverty

tends to reproduce itself among children and young

people from already impoverished families. Conditions of

poverty further hamper access to basic services for large

numbers of young people living in poor households.

Unemployment in return brings with it a number of social

problems including: crime, drug and alcohol abuse, poor

health and the loss of self-esteem and the confidence

needed to participate in the broader society.

One of the specificities of South African education,

and the transition between school and the labour market, is

that the country is still dealing with issues of transformation

and the legacy of apartheid era inequalities, with

particularly high unemployment rates among the young

African population relative to coloured and white youth.

There is a strong correlation between the importance and

the quality of schooling with the probability of finding

work.

Deficiency in youth education and labor market

preparedness is still a relevant concern in contemporary

South Africa. A Labour Force Survey conducted in 2005

reveals that 42% of African youth who were between 15

and 24 years of age had stopped their studies and entered

the labour market. What is troubling is that more than 60%

of these youth had less than a complete secondary school

qualification, while 33% had nothing more than a complete

secondary school qualification. Racial differences appear

even before youth finish school, with white youth much

more likely than any other group to work during the years

they are enrolled in school.

African Sourvineirs and memoirs on sale in Soweto.

A livelihood opportunity for the youth.South Africa


63

Young people relax at the Mandela

House in Orlando West, Soweto. The

house in which Mandela spent a

good part of his life is now a tourist

attraction and young people act as

tour guides at the house. They have

the Mandela history right at their

fingertips and impressively take

visitors down memory lane.

The informal sector of

the economy also has

its role to play. Services

ranging from mechanical

to upholstery and

photocopy are availed to

meet the varied needs of

the population

Youth express

themselves artistically on

a wall in Johannesburg.

This is the only wall in

the whole of Joburg

that they are allowed

to paint and draw

on. It is through such

opportunities that youth

get to discover and

nurture their talents.

Youth working at a car wash. Youth

don’t cease to come up with money-

making ideas whenever they need

money.


Young women with a food stall in the market in Lusaka.

Food industry is a lucrative livelihood opportunity for many.Zambia

A second hand clothes market in Lusaka where many youth are

either buyers or sellers – its booming business.

Over 70,000 youths are floated on the job market each

year. Unemployment is generally very high since

only 350,000 of the total population are formally employed.

The closure of industries in the various provinces due

to the open market economy and privatization as well

as economic decline has reduced formal employment

opportunities for young people.

64


65

Dakar: Young men traverse the streets of Dakar on a horse. They are most probably going

to or coming from ferrying goods. Informal transport like this provides self-employment

opportunities to the youth but also causes major traffic casualtiesSenegal

Gender exerts a significant influence on what choices

youth make in regarding education, fertility, marriage

and livelihoods. In Senegal, there is a strong demarcation

in household decision along gender lines. Unlike men,

whose work is done mainly outside the home is distinct

from it and is associated with cash income, for women, work

is deeply interwoven with her family and home. Formal

sector opportunities in industry and services are limited

for youth, especially females and/or early school leavers,

and formal sector jobs can also go unfilled because youth

do not have the skills/training required, thus contributing

to the unemployment of youth. The formal economy

absorbs only about 16% of youth who have completed

their education leaving the remainder to their own devices.

“Plutot homme que femme, adulte que jeune,” is

a common statement in the Senegalese society which

translated means “Rather a man than a woman, rather an

adult than a young person,” and is a statement that reflects

the attitudes towards female/youth seeking employment.

Occupations in Senegal are generally stratified along

gender lines and this is why we find that in the Senegal

formal economy, women outside of sales and clerical

positions are either nurses or teachers, or are employed in

low-paying public sector jobs that offer job security and

fringe benefits. In these jobs, women are concentrated

in subordinate positions, with limited opportunities for

upward mobility, as noted in survey of women in Dakar

conducted in 1994. This occupational pattern can be

explained in terms of the relatively lower level of education

and training achieved by women, but also by societal

attitudes and norms that govern the nature of skills that

females acquire namely, training in secretaryship, catering,

dress-making, hair-dressing and similar vocations.


It is worth mentioning the following characteristics

of unemployment in Senegal:

• There are more men (64%) than women (36%) who are

seeking employment (about half );

• The youth (age 15-35) represents 56% of total job-

seekers;

• The majority of job-seekers (53%) have no education,

while 74% and 87% of those who entered school have

not gone beyond primary school and 4th grade of

secondary school, respectively;

• 57% of job seekers have no diploma and only 1.6%

have a university degree;

• The capital (Dakar region) has the highest percentage

of job seekers (21%) followed by the second largest

region of Saint Louis (15%)

• The proportion of youth (age 15-35) among job-seekers

is particularly high in the most urbanized regions of

Dakar (74%) and Thies (60%).

The above picture of job seekers is in sharp contrast

with the supply of employment opportunities. As indicated

earlier employment in the public sector is subject to tight

budgetary policies. The data related to employment

opportunities offered by the modern economy, as recorded

in the relevant offices in the regions, is scarce and non

reliable. (UN)

With high rates of unemployment among Senegalese

youth and illegal migration to Europe persisting, Senegal

has partnered with the Spanish government to give young

people skills that respond to the local job market. Senegal

has been a jumping off point for Africans heading to Europe

for work. Many make it only as far as detention centers, like

the one in Spain, and then are expelled. To partly combat

the problem, the European Union has been allowing some

legal immigration, favoring people who have skills needed

in the EU.

“I’d rather die enroute to Babylon rather than deteriorate intoa ‘nobody’ here in Senegal”

Youth Male, Senegal

Corniche beach, Dakar: A man exhales after his workout enjoying

some ‘Atlantic therapy.’ Senegal is a transit point for many youth

wishing to illegally immigrate to Spain, Italy and Europe to seek

better economic opportunities.

66


67

The estimated labor force of Nigeria as at 2009 was

47.3 million (ILO). There has been an increase in the

unemployment rate and as of March 2009 according to the

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), it stood at 19.7% of the

labour force meaning 9.3 million Nigerians. The figure is

slightly higher in the rural areas (19.8%) compared to 19.2%

in the urban areas. The highest rates of unemployment are

among the youngest and the oldest age brackets with the

highest rate of unemployment being among youth aged

15-24 years (41.6%). Statistics also show that the highest

employment rates by gender are among the females while

by educational level the highest is among secondary

school leavers (38.7%) and least among those who have

more than the first degree (0.5%) (NBS, 2010). This shows

that having an advanced education increases ones chance

of employment.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a

program to involve Nigerian graduates in the development

of their country. It involves graduates from universities and

polytechnics. The ‘corpers’ are posted to cities and states

outside their origin and learn to mix with people from a

different background and tribe from them. This is done in

order to foster unity in the country. The program has also

helped in creating entry level jobs for many Nigerian youth.

An NYSC forum dedicated to the NYSC members was

recently built to bridge the gap amongst members serving

across Nigeria and also as an avenue for ‘corpers’ to share

job information and career resources as well as get loans

from the National Directorate Of Employment.

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) was

set up in 1986 as an initiative to combat unemployment.

It has four main programmes namely Vocational Skills

Development (VSD), Small Scale Enterprises (SSE), Rural

Employment Promotion (REP) and Special Public Works

(SPW). These programmes target unemployed school

leavers at all levels (graduates and non-graduates)

and are aimed at training through apprenticeships,

entrepreneurship programs, training on agriculture and

agro-based activities. The special public works program

gives youth short term placement in public sector jobs

that are labor intensive enabling them to earn while they

acquire work and trade experience. They also have a

resettlement loan scheme in the VSD programme aimed

at equipping those who graduate with tools of trade

that they will require going into self employment. In

2006 for instance, 1480 trained youth were given tools

and equipment in the national open apprenticeship

scheme (NOAS). In the same year, a total of 29,405 people

benefitted in the four programmes under various schemes

such as NOAS, Entrepreneurship Development Programme

(EDP), Schools on Wheels (SOW), Graduate Attachment

Programme (GAP), Rural Agriculture and Development

Training Scheme (RADTS), Rural Handicrafts Scheme

(RHS) among others. (NDE) Considering the much larger

population of unemployed youth, more needs to be done

to make accommodate them into these schemes and other

initiatives.

A young man displays and sells his

paintings on the street in Lagos.Nigeria

Street hawker selling a variety of goods including watches to car

passengers in a busy Lagos street. Are they genuine?


Ideal jobs versus the reality

The table below shows a few country by country examples

of what the youth described as their ideal jobs:

Table 12: Examples of young people’s ideal jobs

Ideal Job Reasons Salary expectationsper month

TV Reporter especially doing investigative journalism the likes of Mohammed Ali (Kenyan TV Reporter)

Appears to be a very exciting career and one also participates in bringing important issues to the public’s attention

KES 50,000 (EUR 500)

Real Estate Developer (own company) There is big money to be made in real estate In the millions

Engineering – machine maintenance. In a big well known factory preferably in Nairobi like Bamburi Cement, Coca-Cola Bottlers or Kenya Malting with a friendly and understanding boss as well as colleagues

Related to current studies and interests KES 70,000 (EUR 700)

Football player Loves playing football and is good at it 2500 Birr (EUR 90)

Real Estate business It makes good money and can be satsfactory 2000 USD (EUR 1650)

Governmnet Employee Job security 2000 Birr (EUR120)

Driver and mechanic He drives an old man’s tractor and he would like to drive and be a mechanic at the same time

R 2400 (EUR256)

Lawyer To prove that a black female can succeed in a traditionally male and white dominated field

Minimum R20,000 (2130 )

Doctor (General Practitioner) For the pay R30-40,000 (EUR 3,196-4261)

Working in an NGO Want to work with the community 20 Million Kwacha (EUR 3200)

Nurse in Chikankata Has always admired nurses in their uniform and the mission hospital is the largest formal employerv

EUR 48-56

Policeman Has a brother in the police force who will facilitate the process

EUR 240

Software Engineer Wants to work for Microsoft EUR 760 – 4,500

Civil Servant Not specified EUR 120

Paeditricianvv Wants to save lives. Also doctors are well paid. Not specified

Job with Mobil Company Not specified EUR 27,000

Job in a communications company Not specified EUR 810

Any fresh graduate entry job Not specified Starting salary for a graduate should be EUR 378

KEN

YAET

HIO

PIA

SOU

TH A

FRIC

AZA

MBI

ASE

NEG

AL

NIG

ERIA

Many of the youth interviewed talked about jobs

in the formal sector as their ideal. Others qualified this

by saying that they eventually desire to run their own

companies or practices within the same formal fields after

acquiring enough experience, developing the necessary

networks and saving the required capital to invest. The

older youth (18-21 and 22-25) who were already studying

a particular course at tertiary level tended to describe their


69

ideal jobs within the same fields of study hence if studying

engineering, they desired to become engineers in future.

Generally, media and journalism came out as one of the

attractive sectors for many youth in South Africa, Zambia

and Kenya and this seemed to be driven by the significant

growth of the sector over the years as well as the excitement

and ‘glamour’ associated with the profession. In Senegal

most young people desired careers in the medical field

for two main reasons – it pays fairly well and the national

university (Cheikh Anta Diop) is reputed to produce the

best doctors in West Africa. Similary in Chikankata Zambia,

young people also wanted to become doctors or nurses

mainly influenced by the presence of the Chikankata

Mission Hospital which is the main formal employer in the

area. In Nigeria the telecommunications sector was quite

popular. Overall, there was a tendency for fixation on the

‘big’ / multinational companies; many youth want to work

in these companies due to the perceived benefits of the

same. They believe that in these large companies they

can earn big salaries, get to travel extensively and have

other luxurious benefits that they desire such as a house,

a car, and other motivational facilities within the workplace

such as TV and also the perception that such companies

treat employees better. The fixation on big companies

however could also be attributed to lack of awareness of

the job market as a whole in terms of other medium or

smaller players and what they have to offer. The youth

to some extent also seem to have somewhat unrealistic

expectations in terms of what they expect to earn, what

levels or grades of jobs they will work in, how much work

they will actually have to do, how quickly they will rise up

the ladder among other things. In addition there appears

to be some kind of desire to have a relatively easy working

life hence why they are quick to mention high ranking

jobs perceiving them to be highly rewarding but not as

demanding. In Senegal and Kenya for example some

young people wished to work in government not as civil

servants but as high ranking government officials e.g. MPs,

Ministers, and Ambassadors.

However some, particulary the older ones (22-25)

are a little more realistic and even the salaries quoted are

fairly in line with market rates. Having had real life work

experience, a few youth who are already employed also

have something to say about challenges they face or are

likely to face in the workplace. Examples of this in Zambia

are such as poor pay and poor working conditions such

as lack of protective gear for those working in the mines

or factories. Others in Nigeria said that they have to deal

with unrealistic targets e.g. those in sales and marketing

and some females also talked about constant sexual

harassment as another challenge. In Ikorodu Nigeria

and Debre Zeit Ethiopia youth also complained of long

commute to and from work every day since some opt to

look for job opportunities in the nearest urban centres (1

to 3 hours away) but still live in their rural places so as pay

lower rent.

In defining their ideal jobs, there were other youth

who outrightly expressed preference for self-employment

and went on to describe the kind of businesses or companies

they would like to run often related to personal talents and

interests. This was especially evident in Ethiopia and also

amongst Kenyan youth who were already self-employed

even at a fairly early age (14-17).

All in all there seems to be a gap between the

ideal jobs and the reality. As earlier discussed formal

employment opportunities are quite limited. By extension

those studying certain disciplines may not necessarily

land jobs within those fields since by virtue of the limited

opportunities they may be forced to settle for whatever job

comes their way or become entrepreneurs.

Metal frames displayed by the roadside. Many young men are

engaged in the informal sector industry in Zambia.

Inspirational signage at a workplace in Nairobi signifies the

recognition of self-employment as a good opportunity for youth


Attaining the ideal jobs

One of the major obstacles standing in the way

of the youth in attaining their ideal jobs is corruption

and patronage. With the exception of South Africa, this

is evident across all the countries of study as expressed

by the youth. Many youth complained that bribery is

the name of the game as well as nepotism or having

connections with certain people in the main agencies

or corporations both public and private so as to be ‘fixed’

in any given position. In a sense those who are deemed

to have already made it in life are the same ones who are

said to have the necessary connections hence the lower

income youth feel that they will never get there. In Zambia

for example one respondent’s ideal job was to become

an army commander and he was quite confident that he

would get in. He explained that this is because his uncle

is a Major in the army and so had already assured him that

he would get him the job on completion of his studies.

Some of the female respondents expressed more woes

in addition to this. They said that in order to secure a job

women are sometimes required to concede sexual favours

and once there are also required to do the same so as to

move up the ladder or benefit from salary increments and

other benefits. According to some female respondents in

Zambia, this matter has even led to husbands forbidding

their wives to seek employment especially in the corporate

world as they fear that their wives will definitely succumb

to the demands of the male superiors in the workplace.

Occupations in Senegal are also generally stratified

along gender lines as illustrated by this statement as earlier

reported: “Rather a man than a woman, rather an adult

than a young person.” This was a statement in a newspaper

headline in Senegal which clearly reflects the attitudes

of society towards the youth especially the female youth

seeking employment. In South Africa some of the youth

talked about racial discrimination as a real obstacle to

securing employment. Opportunities are more limited for

Black South Africans as a result.

Another major obstacle especially for those whose

ideal job is related to starting their own business or

company is the lack of capital. In addition the youth also

lack business know-how and mentorship which could add

significant value to their entrepreneurial ambitions. There

are some initiatives both by government and private sector

in providing mentorship and business support to youth

though these are generally limited and therefore do not

cater for significant proportions of the youth populations.

To some extent youth also appear not to actively seek

employment and business opportunities not only due to

a lack of awareness and knowledge to seize meaningful

opportunities as raised by some Key Informants but also

because they lack the personal initiative and drive to do

so. Instead some of them become complacent based on

assumptions that they definitely cannot compete on a level

ground with others and succeed so why attempt in the

first place? They also without questioning, tend to believe

falsehoods peddled in the community about accessibility

of certain job opportunities which in reality they might

have been able to benefit from. In addition, youth

generally do not seem to latch on to the idea of seeking

internship and volunteerism opportunities as a way of

gaining experience hence be able to meet the experience

requirement that employers demand in order to grant

applicants the positions advertised. However there is

also evidence of employers failing to create an enabling

and sustainable environment for youth who are keen to

volunteer or intern.

Youth also have poor access to job market

information which also adds to the reasons why many

are unable to attain the jobs they desire. The main source

of job advertisements for instance is the mass media

particularly newspapers yet there is limited access to the

same especially for youth in rural areas where distribution

is negligible; few people in rural areas can afford to buy

a newspaper daily anyway. The disconnect and limited

collaboration between educational institutions and the

employers also adds to the youth not having sufficient

information about the job market. Most people have access

to and listen to radio but unfortunately this is not a channel

that most employers use to advertise opportunities. The

Internet which would be a good source of information is

also not accessible to a large extent for the majority.

Carrying the troubles of the world on their shoulders? Not really but quite disillusioned by how impossible it may be for them to attain their dream jobs so...they idle all day.


71

The Kwale Youth Business Centre consists of a block

of offices that was built by the Ministry of Labour

for the youth in Kwale. It is rent free and hosts several

businesses including a bakery, a hardware shop (that

seemed to be always closed), a multi-level marketing

franchise shop (Tiens), among others. It is interesting

that there is no electricity in the place yet many of the

businesses there seem to be the kind that would require

the use of electricity and / or electric gadgets every now

and then. We arrive at the business centre at about

9:00am expecting to find the Tiens shop open as they

are our hosts for the day. However it is still closed so we

decide to talk to the youth at the business

next door. Next to the Tiens business is

a group of youth who do artwork and

occasionally sell it at the tourist hotels.

Two youth are available on the day and

they take some time to show us samples

of their work. They tell us that they will

be departing shortly to go and paint

signposts in the national park. One of

them says that he is a natural artist. He

came to the Coast Province about 10

years ago after completing secondary

school and that’s when he started using

his artistic talent. There is evidence of

his talent in terms of various drawings

on most of the walls at the block of offices. Some of his

paintings are on the walls of the buildings and more are in

the shop; they are mostly pictures of people and animals.

Some of the artworks are also inspirational or motivational

quotes or statements painted in an artistic way like ‘Yes we

Can’ and ‘Anayekuambia ujikinge anajali afya yako. Mjali

pia, jikinge kila mara’, which is Swahili for ‘He who tells you

to protect yourself cares about your health. Care about him

as well and protect yourself all the time’. This message is

quite likely related to safe sex campaigns implying that this

is a concern in the Kwale community i.e. the need to protect

one self and to encourage and support one another. The

Getting diagnosed using the acupuncture machine

Outside view of the Tiens Shop

Business as Usual at a Tiens Shop at Kwale Youth Business Centre, Kwale, Kenya


young man also mentions to us that he runs a gymn in

collaboration with an NGO near a cultural center called

Kwale Arts. He goes there to train people in the morning

and in the evening.

There is a small make-shift wooden room next to

one of the workshops which we later realize is a nursery

school when we see some children in class with a

teacher. It is rather strange that most of the shops at the

youth business centre remain closed most of the time

despite this being a week day.

Salim (32) and Moha (in his 20s) arrive at around

10:00 am. Salim is the owner of the shop and Moha is

his downline. They also work with two ladies who they

inform us are out in the field marketing. The origin of

the Tiens business is in China and it is a direct / multi-

level marketing business. Apparently it is quite popular

at the Coast and even in Kenya as a whole. Salim tells

us that he used to work in an upmarket hotel but

decided to quit when this business picked up. He does

not disclose how much he earns from his business but

reveals that his upline takes home at least KES 100,000

(EUR 1000) per month. He however intimates that he

is doing well enough since he is even able to employ

the two ladies.

At the Tiens shop Salim and his team deal mostly

in nutritional and health supplements. They also have

an electronic acupuncture machine which they use to

diagnose what their customers could be ailing from

after which they are able to prescribe the supplements.

They offer to give free diagnosis to one of us which

they do seemingly with quite some skill and accuracy.

The machine seems quite accurate given that most of

the ailments described are actually true and known to

our researcher. They go ahead to give a diagnosis and

prescription of the herbal remedies that she should

use. They tell us that very many people have been

healed even of terminal illnesses such as cancer just by

use of the herbal medication available at Tiens.

The two young men appear to be very highly

motivated and enthusiastic about their business.

Although it appears to be a slow day given that we

do not encounter any client who comes to the shop

throughout this day, they show as a filled up notebook

full of client names. They say that they also spend a lot

of their time outside the office marketing the products

hence sometimes the clients do not need to come to

them at the shop. They charge KES 500 (EUR 5) for the

acupuncture diagnosis and most of the supplements

range from KES 1000 (EUR 10) onwards. According to

them, their strong belief in their products helps to sell

them.

Basic facilities available in the gym that Salim runs

Other offices on the same block as the Tiens Shop

Kwale Youth Business Centre: A view of the workshops at the centre – the furniture shop


73

All in a day’s work at the Sub-Saharan Africa Researchand Training Institute, Addis Ababa

SART is a private research agency that is based in the Bole

region of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Most of the employees are

aged between 15-25 years, majority of who are permanent

employees. A few, especially some data entry staff are

employed on contractual basis. Having various projects that

they work on, on behalf of their clients, each of them seems

to know quite well what they should be doing and at what

time.

On this particular day there are about 10 of them

in the office. Initially there are 2 ladies who are printing

questionairres and 2 gentlemen working on some transcripts.

The transcribers, who also do a number of other duties in

the agency, are listening to voice recordings and keying in

information. There are about 5 desktops and a number of

laptops in the office. Knowledge and use of computers is visibly

good as all the staff are using them for different functions

ranging from Ms Word, SPSS, use of search engines, and

sending and receiving e-mail. One thing that is quite evident is

the team work. Much as they speak in Amharic one can detect

team work and synergy in the work place. At a point or two the

printer that the ladies are using is not printing so well and the

gentlemen take turns to check out the printer and sort it out so

that the ladies can continue preparing their research tools. On

speaking to one of the data entry staff (girl of about 18 years)

on where they learnt computer skills, she says that much as she

had computer classes at the university, she still had to attend

extra computer training classes at a local college so as to get

better knowledge and experience on the computer and also

to better her typing skills. Most universities do have computer

classes but considering the population ratio of students to the

facilities available, they do not get satisfactory computer skills

as a result.

A team meeting is held to discuss findings from a

quantitative market research survey that had been done. One

of them is clearly the team leader and he leads his team of

about 8 in discussing the general findings. The data is later to

be entered into the computer using data processing packages,

but the meeting is meant to establish the general experience

the enumerators had in the field and what they think about the

findings. Each of them has a chance to speak, some referring

to documents they have on the table. There emerges a serious

discussion on an issue and the team members get a bit louder

as they seemingly try to iron out the issue. Apparently there

is a strange difference in data collected in one region as

compared to the other regions. The survey was on preference

of soft drinks, and it seems that distributors of the same drinks

in one region have almost contrasting figures on preffered

drinks in comparison to the rest of the regions. The team leader

is keen to establish the cause and reason for this kind of finding,

considering that they had been doing the study periodically

for a couple of months and the trend seemed to have taken

a sharp turn in this particular wave of the study. Soon even

the girls who had been working on their computers join in

the discussion. The Executive Director of the company who is

in his early 30s is also in the room but is not really moved by

the happenings at the meeting. He barely interrupts to give

his opinion, and later explains this by saying that he is quite

confident in his team leader and staff as a whole and hence

need not micro-manage them on their duties. He only listens to

them as he continues his work and later on says a word or two.

On asking him why his staff are mostly youth, he says that youth

are always energetic, diligent in their work and ambitious. They

are, he said, keen to learn and to do ‘quality’ work as they know

that this way they will climb up the professional ladder. Older

people on the other hand are not as enthusiastic.

At lunch hour, most of the team go to lunch with the

Executive Director. They are quite friendly and comfortable

with each other, and joke about their social lives now and then.

One particular employee (the soft drink survey leader) is lightly

criticized to be ‘married’ to his job and that he must be ‘afraid’

of girls. He is said to work continually and does not stop until

a task is complete. As is in the Ethiopian culture, food is served

in one big tray and everyone washes their hands and together

they eat from the same tray. One cannot easily tell who is boss

over who as they all discuss freely and comfortably like one big

family.

Some of the employees also do other part time jobs

whenever they got a chance to increase both their experience

and income, and they seem to have perfected the art of juggling

as their director does not have a problem with the extra work

they do on the side. Some are school teachers and others have

some research related contracts here and there.

All in all these youth generally leave one with a good

impression; they actually are hard working and ambitious as

their director says. They take on whatever opportunities they

come by and work hard at them.


75


Chapter Four | Lifestyle

It is well known that the youth are in a state of

rapid physical and psychological change. Because of

their curiosity, enthusiasm and urge to try and see new

phenomenon, a considerable number of youth have

become addicted to alcohol, khat, dangerous medical drugs

and narcotics drugs all of which are detrimental to their

health. These and many similar health hazards challenge

the youth’s proper physical, mental and psychological

development. As a result, the youth are being exposed to

unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, various venereal

diseases and most of all, to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The harsh economic conditions resulting in

joblessness expose the youth to social evils. With the high

cost of education majority of youth are not able to access

it, and have therefore turned to not only petty crime but

armed robberies. They are also exposed to drug abuse

which due to the cost implications leads them to crime to

enable them secure money to buy the drugs.

In Ethiopia, a large number of youth have, because

of economic and social problems, been exposed to

juvenile delinquency, addiction to dangerous narcotics,

prostitution, beggary, street life and to similar other social

evils. On one hand, this condition exposes them to health

problems (HIV/AIDS, STD etc.) while on the other, pushes

them into engaging in criminal acts. Some 143,169 juvenile

delinquents were registered between July 2000 and June

2001 alone. There are more sex workers who are aged 15-

24 years and so are the street youth below 30 years. All this

indicates that a great number of youth spend their most

active years not in engagements that are useful for their

human development but in activities that expose them to

health problems and criminal offences.

Gang rape has become a youth-cult in South Africa.

Every year, 380,000 women are raped in South Africa and

this is one of the reasons why HIV-AIDS is at such a high

level in the country, with some 6 million people now

infected. Rape is also a form of initiation among the men.

New inmates in male prisons are inevitably raped upon

arrival by all members of any given cell.

76


77

Youth Categories

Young people do have their own way of classifying

or categorising themselves with specific names for the

categories and vivid descriptions of those who belong to

these groupings. In most places the key distinguishing factor

both in urban and rural seems to be wealth / money. Other

distinguishing factors are those related to lifestyle such as

how they dress, speak, act, things they own, places they hang

out, hobbies / interests, beliefs and values some of which still

have some kind of relation to the wealth factor. In Senegal it

is more about lifestyle factors as opposed to wealth or money.

In some places some of the youth interviewed could not

give specific names to the categories of youth that exist but

could only describe the different types of youth using these

distinguishing factors of dress, wealth, behaviour, speech,

etc. Generally, youth categories as defined and described by

the youth appear to be more elaborate in urban than rural

settings. This may be because of a more communal way of

life in rural areas where everyone is perceived to be more or

less of a similar status and there is more cohesiveness and

interedepence. For example though there are quite likely

differences in financial capability from one family to the next,

there is not necessarily an intentional and outward display

of the same; instead people tend to extend support to one

another which is cemented by communal values and norms.

Another example of a youth culture among one

tribe in Kenya include a phenomenon called ‘Disco

Matanga’ (Disco Funeral) whereby community members,

including adolescents, congregate at the home of a

deceased person for several days, accompanied by music

and dancing. Disco funerals are an important place for

young people to hang out and the events increase the

opportunities for youth to meet and engage in (risky)

sexual activities. Many adolescents have casual sex on

these occasions, sometimes with multiple partners, and

mostly without condoms. Girls are forced into sex, and

some instances, gang rape occurs. Sex is also exchanged

for money. Drugs and alcohol facilitate unprotected,

multiple-partner, coerced, and transactional sex (Njue et

al., 2009). In addition, organized crimes are committed

by very young people especially carjacking, household

theft, political violence, among others.

Findings from the main study on various issues

related to youth lifestyle are presented below. These

include what categories of youth exist (as defined by

the youth) and what the distinguishing characteristics of

these are, why if at all dressing is important to the youth

and how they like to dress, pastime activities, fun and

entertainment, traveling, dreams and aspirations, and

how the youth perceive themselves vis a vis the society’s

perception of them.

77


The following categories were described:

Table 13: African youth categories

1. Those belonging to the middle to upper socio-economic classes:


Ballers, Mababi / Masonko / Masource,

Mababi Extreme

Rappers, Stylish (female)

Bourgeoisie, Hiphoppers

Upper Mwambas or Chinondo

Le Jeune Extravagant Butty, Tush, Omodaddy, Omomummy

Summary description:

� Dress expensive; genuine designer labels; newly purchased

� Fashionistas

� Have a lot of disposable income mostly from parents

� Own various expensive gadgets such as phones (N Series, E Series, Blackberry), ipods, laptops, home theatres, playstations

� Flashy and seek a lot of attention

� Hang outs: latest, trendiest clubs, malls, restaurants

� Relatively well educated and eloquent

• Mostly speak the official languages as opposed to slang and mother tongue

� Use private transport as opposed to public – dropped and picked, drive themselves or cab it

� Not considered as very ambitious in life – don’t work as hard in school, likely to inherit their parents wealth or get into

the family business

� Have an almost guaranteed path to success due to their family connections

� Highly influenced by western culture – music, dress, language

• Rock, Hiphop

� Love music and nightlife

� Perceived to be snobbish, keep to their own kind

� Sometimes admire the freedom that comes with an ordinary lifestyle of other youth (Kenya, Zambia)

� Sports – tendency towards more ‘elite’ sports like basketball, tennis, swimming, etc

� Some have distinct demeanour – walking style e.g. bounce, swagger, sagging trousers, bling

� Society considers them spoilt, disrespectful, but on the other hand sometimes also expect financial help from them

“They have a lot of time tospend on the Internet, they wear expensive

clothing… they don’t need to work for money. Their role models would be R&B artists or Hip Hop

ones… They are influenced by international things which they see from the media…”

Kwale, Kenya.

“The rappers always focus on their dressing styles and throwing parties. But the addicted ones are always trying to get money”

Male 14-17, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

“The bourgeoisie are so brand conscious they can even take a sprite label and stick it on their jeans”



79


� Perceived to be streetsmart and survivors

• Hustle to make extra money to support their lifestyle – some do very well as a result

� Flashy or want to be – love the spotlight and style

� Dress fairly well – can source smart and trendy items from second hand markets or sometimes save and spend on new

items if they really desire them

� Influenced by western culture – dress, music, language

• Baggy pants, fancy hairdos, make-up, earrings for boys, some bling

� Media savvy, sassy

� Some have special talents especially in the arts

2. Those belonging to the middle to lower socio-economic classes:


Wanati Rastafarians


� Enjoy reggae music

� Some fully embrace Rastafarian lifestyle – dreadlocks, rasta colours, smoking marijuana

� Consider themselves peace loving, wise and non-confrontational people; are free spirited

� Like to hang out at places with reggae music or else simply at designated street spots in their neighbourhoods

� Speak more of local slang than official languages

� Often not as well educated and eloquent as the ‘richer’ youth

� Not flashy though may still dress fairly well – can source smart and trendy items from second hand markets

� Perceived to be streetsmart and survivors

� Society considers them druggies, thugs or good for nothing though this is sometimes a big misconception


Hustlers, Wannabes Plastics Yobalis Les HipocriteYahoo Boys, Big Boys & Girls, Swagger Boys &

Girls, Ashanti Girls, Area Boys & Girls

“The Wanati are from low income areas, they carry tiny rugsacks on their backs and are generally free spirits… they are often envied for that…”

Female 18-21, Nairobi, Kenya

“There are some categories in Senegal such as those whowant to study but have no means and are even forced to drop out of

their studies. There are those who would like to study and work to help their families and those who study because their families have nurtured

them and made them comfortable by giving them a good means oftransport and good clothes and finally there are those who fight for

themselves just like me. I work and pay school fees for myself.”

Female 22-25, Mbour Senegal

“They are too snobbish, and like attention…they live and breathe media”

Female 18-21, Johannesburg, South

“Get rich or die trying is the Area Boys Motto.” (As said by the rap artist 50 cents)

Lagos, Nigeria

“They have big dreadlocks…they don’t eat meat…they dress in their own colours”

Female 14-17, Limpopo, South Africa



Mateja, Wanati Extreme, Masmata

Susegnas / Druggies, Gangstas

Pantsulas Niggers, Thugz Les Rebels Niggers


� Are drug addicts and layabouts

� Are constantly broke

• Desparate for money – can sell any of their personal items

� Some are actual thugs and are violent

• Sell stolen items for income – cars, phones, anything they can lay their hands on

� Have a harsh demeanour

� Many have a poor education background

� Tend to speak local slang as opposed to proper or standard official language

� Don’t care much for being well dressed / groomed

“The mateja are lazy even in theirmannerisms, they have no purpose in life”

Male 18-21, Kwale, Kenya

“They are high (drunk) most of the timeand cannot follow conversations well. Ni watu wamechoka na life (they are people who are fed up with life)…”


“Many of them (pantsula) getelectrocuted on railway lines as they try

to show off tricks on moving trains”

Male 14-17 Johannesburg, South Africa

“They may have dreams and aspirationsbut are overwhelmed with frequent

imprisonment and feelings of desperation and so forth (gangstas)”

Male 18-21, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“They (mapantsula) love being in a group. Its unusual to find them

walking alone”


3. Based on general lifestyle and / or lifestyle passions:


Chanukaad Stylish Les Intellos (The Intelligent) Tush


� Quick, focused and progressive

� Confident, eloquent, can express themselves well

� Good command of official languages

� Have fairly good education background

� Quite studious and intelligent

� Well dressed and classy; have a good dress sense and are fashion conscious

� Ladies wear make-up

� Generally knowledgeable about their surroundings and current issues

� Technologically savvy

� Up to date with the latest – trends, entertainment, hang outs, etc

“A chic who is Chanukaad will not wear blonde braids yet she is dark skinned. Blonde braids may be in but they don’t look good on dark people…”


“Les Intellos are too serious with littleamusement and often very stressed, they are not men of sports, they go to exposi-

tions and they say very little..”

Dakar, Senegal

“They (the stylish) are most of the time influenced by thewestern culture. They are always under peer pressure”

Female 22-25, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“The stylish wear very fashionable cloths like jeans, sketchers”



81


Washamba Geja / Uncivilised Makiba, Magagasa

Le Jeune Analphabetes (The Illiterates) / Le Jeune

Inconscient (The Unconscious)

Rude Boys & Girls (Street)


� Somewhat poorly educated

� Poor fashion or dress sense

� Lack social knowledge

� Own simple, cheap items e.g. low cost phones

� Tend to be traditional in their ways – e.g. even in dressing

� Poor in expressing themselves

� Have no stand in life

� Can be easily influenced or misled


Devoted Christians, Volunteers, Meklit

Christians, Decent

Religious SU (Christian), Innocent


� Dress decently and neatly (do not expose themselves)

� Are conservative (even though may be from rich families)

� Keep a low profile, are not flashy or showy

� Actively involved in church activities (e.g. choir)

� Virtuous, obedient, conform to societal norms

� Society has a positive perception of them

• Some people may consider them backward or unprogressive since they are not necessarily concerned with the latest trends

• Other ‘non-religious’ youth tend to avoid them because of their eagerness to transform others

� Own simple gadgets e.g. low cost phones

� Hardworking and generally have good academic performance

� Service oriented (to society)

� Friendships, social life as a whole and activities mainly centred around the church or mosque

“They (magagasa) like to singcultural music and dress in traditional gear”


“The Geja youth do notunderstand things well”


“Their culture (makiba) ischaracteristised by song and dance”

Male 22-25, Limpopo, South Africa

“For instance, taking the religious groups, helping other youths to follow the track they assume is right

could be taken as their life goal”

Female 18-21, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

“Volunteers expect mental satisfaction for what they do. They might not get that much significant

monetary rewards but are satisfied mentally”



Ballers, Mababi / Masonko / Masource, Mababi Extreme

Rappers, Stylish (female)

Bourgeoisie, Hiphoppers

Upper Mwambas or Chinondo

Le Jeune Extravagant

Butty, Tush, Omodaddy, Omomummy

Mateja, Wanati Extreme, Masmata

Susegnas / Druggies, Gangstas

Pantsulas

Niggers, Thugz

Les Rebels

Niggers

Hustlers, Wannabes

Plastics

Yobalis

Les Hipocrite

Yahoo Boys, Big Boys & Girls, Swagger Boys & Girls, Ashanti Girls, Area Boys

& Girls

Wanati

Rastafarians


83

Chanukaad

Stylish

Les Intellos (The Intelligent)

Tush

Washamba

Geja / Uncivilised

Makiba, Magagasa

Le Jeune Analphabetes (The Illiterates) / Le Jeune Inconscient (The Unconscious

Rude Boys & Girls (Street))

Wasanii

Young Life

Yobalis

Devoted Christians, Volunteers, Meklit

Christians, Decent

Religious


They put on leggings and short skirts (makwaito)”



Makwaito Influence Le Jeune Extravagant


� Easily succumb to peer pressure

� Fashionable, reckless and self-indulgent (alcohol, drugs, clothes)

� Love music and entertainment (some singing)

� Some are school dropouts

� Some are bullies


Wasanii Young Life Yobalis


� Aspiring artists – tend to be talented in various performing arts

� Some Western influence


Punks, Emos, Goths


� Perceived by the rest of society to be strange or weird

� Display antisocial and rebellious behaviour

� Some are emotionally unstable – even said to be suicidal

� Have body piercings, steel jewellery, and tattoos

� Wear black clothing and make-up

� Are mostly White youth though other youth slowly beginning to join this lifestyle

“They gather weekly on Saturdays to discuss howthey spent and how they should spend their time”

Female 18-21 Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

“Society thinks they are strange… they are attention seekers (punks)”

Female 22-25, Johannesburg, South Africa

Some insight into the groups and way of grouping…

Kenya

It appears that many Kenyan youth are to a good

extent aping and embracing western culture or at least

borrowing certain aspects of it and localizing it. This is what

is seen to be cool and progressive and is evident in terms

of such things as dress, language and music; this seems to

cut across most of the youth categories as defined by the

youth. Quite likely globalization has a role to play in this

because it has brought about exchange of ideas through

the advancement of technology. This therefore has had an

effect on culture for example the way of dressing, dialect/

communication, thereby creating a possibility and even

the likelihood of global culture.

Ethiopia

Youth categories in Ethiopia are based mostly on the

activities that they engage in during their free time. It is

quite noticeable that unlike the categories pointed out by

youth in other countries, the main factor that differentiates

one youth category from another are the activities the

youth are involved in as opposed to socio-economic class.

Perhaps this can be explained by the tradition of most

people in the country, whereby much as there is economic

difference amongst the people, there is also general unity

and acceptance amongst people regardless of economic

class or status. It was also found that youth categories were

more pronounced and defined in Addis Ababa (urban)


85

than in Debre Zeit (rural). This is the case because the gap

between the socio-economic classes is not too wide in the

rural areas.

South Africa

Youth categories in South Africa are many and

distinct and appear to be based on dress, appearance, skin

color, wealth, socialization, behavior and values. Profiling

themselves seems to be an easy and natural process for

youth mainly and gives way to distinct youth categories.

This can be attributed to their history of apartheid that

created discriminative mindsets which are still evident to

date. This experience also instilled in them a psyche of pride

and nationalism and a pride of associating and staying true

to one’s identity hence the very distinct groupings. It is

this sense of belonging that united them in their liberation

struggle.

Zambia

In Zambia it appears that the gap between the upper

class and the low and middle class is quite wide hence most

youth tend to group themselves along these lines. There is

also strong religious influence on many youth particularly

in terms of dressing style where one is perceived as either

decently dressed or indecently dressed hence this forms

another way of categorizing.

Senegal

Amongst the youth, the categorization experience

in Senegal sharply contrasts that in other countries for

example SA. The categories are certainly fewer with subtle

distinguishing features. In fact, they are based more on

priorities and past times (as in Ethiopia) as well as level of

disposable income. This can be attributed to the fact that

Islamic culture of brotherhood encourages social cohesion

where differences in material wealth and financial prosperity

are perceived as collective success rather than individual

efforts. A similar picture can be seen in Kwale (rural) Kenya

which is predominantly Islamic hence categories are not

as distinct as in Nairobi. Therefore although Senegalese

economy is fundamentally capitalistic, at the micro level,

resource allocation / sharing is a very communal affair. This

is not to say that wealth distribution is equitable. Rather

than size each other up, Islamic teaching encourages

integration rather than segregation, humility rather than

conspicuousness, the success of the community rather

than that of the individual.

Nigeria

The economic situation in Nigeria has meant that

many youth cannot get formal employment and so they

have to find alternative means of earning a living. These

“street youth” are referred to by different terms depending

on occupation, e.g. Yahoo boys are so called because of their

internet scams. There seem to be many youth categories

developed around hustling or trying to make some money

in one eway or another. For example other than the Yahoo

boys, there are the Ashanti girls who are perceived by

some to be prostitutes, and that is how they make their

money. Another term that has become popular is ‘swagger’

with many youth now wanting to consider themselves as

swagger youth. It is more about how you do something,

rather than what you do. It is used on youth who are lavish

in their style and are proud but it also has a connotation

of self-confidence, innovativeness and streetsmarts. Thus

it is not confined to one particular special group. In some

discussions the ginger boys and girls were also referred to

as the swagger youth.

“…people with similar personality form a group. But groups are not

that distinct. There is an interaction point all over and no animosity among people…. when you think about the

future there is no me. It is us. You think of your friendship as long

lasting. We always set our future goals all around each others future goals”

Female 14-17 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


Pastime, fun and entertainment

Fun and entertainment is a big part of lifestyles of

youth in Africa and even reflects as one of the main items

they spend their money on as discussed under youth and

money in the chapter on livelihoods. Generally socializing

and listening to music are the main pastimes that cut across

or appear to be universal amongst all youth as demonstrated

by the different youth age sets studied as well as rural and

urban youth in the various countries of study. There are

different ways and means of socializing that vary among

different types of youth and also depends on what they can

access. For instance many rural youth may not have access

to the internet through PC or phone hence would have to

meet physically with their friends in order to socialize while

in urban areas Facebook is on an addictive all high – this

is how youth keep in touch with their friends. In South

Africa MXit, an sms and internet based social networking

platform is also big amongst the youth. Watching TV and

movies is also major though access may sometimes be a

challenge especially in some rural areas; some youth in

rural areas and low income urban settlements settle for

pay-to-view halls in their neighbourhoods. Youth are also

interested and actively participating in sports with football

being the major one across all the countries. In Senegal for

example football is the only sport. Most activities that can

be done either individually or as a group often also serve

as boredom busters. The table below shows the various

activities mentioned as pastime activities by the youth

interviewed in the different countries of study.

Table 14: Pastime activities for youth in Africa

KEN ETH SA ZAM SEN NIG

Pastime Activities U R U R U R U R U R U R

Listening to music

Dancing

Watching TV

Watching movies

Reading

Playing sport

Socialising with friends

Drinking

Partying

Having Tea / Coffee

Taking walks

Exercising / keeping fit

Playing video / computer games

Playing mobile games

Going to church / mosque

Concerts

Internet surfing

Chewing khat

Cooking

Doing household chores

Sleeping

Climbing trees

Swimming

Picnicing or picnic parties

Performing arts (comedy, drama, dance, song, poetry)

Spending time with family

Studying

Shopping

U – Urban R – Rural


87

E ast Corniche (Corniche Ouest in French) is an up

market area east of Dakar. It is a beautiful area

that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean with fine walks

punctuated by palm trees-an area that resembles

and feels like the posh Palm Springs in the America.

Corniche is home to Senegal’s expatriate community.

It is also strategically close to Cheikh Anta Diop

(UCAD)-the country’s national university. Together

these populations converge on the beaches of

Corniche for the one activity that unites and has come

to define part Senegal’s lifestyle: sports, fitness and

general wellness.

There are different beaches ranging from the

exclusive Plage des Enfants and the more crowded

Anse Bernard. From about 4pm every evening, it is a

ritual for the urbanites in Dakar (mainly the youth) to

break sweat on these beaches. Some jog, others prefer

low-intensity options of brisk walks, and also in action

were the hardcore bunch that pumped weights. Then

there is the group that sticks to the good old football.

Only a few endured a dip in the cold Atlantic waters.

The remaining are either involved in muscle stretches

and toning exercises. In total, there were about 300-

400 people with 60% being students from UCAD.

These groups are organized in fitness circuits

each having self-appointed circuit leaders that basically

gave instruction to ensure uniform movements for

participants. The leader typically gives verbal instruction

to the ‘faithful masses’ and they basically follow. So when

he shouts ‘deplacer a la gauche!’ the crowd jogs in the left

direction and when he shouts ’vers a la droite’ they move

in the opposite direction. The pace of movement also

varies depending on what the instructor says. At some

point, another instructor may take over the session until

it gets dark and the crowds disperse.

On the beach parking, there are several coconut

vendors at the crowded car park selling coco – coconut

fruit with refreshing and nutritious coconut water to

rejuvenate weary and thirsty clients. The beverage is sold

for CFA 200 (EUR 0.3) and is in fact a lucrative business

that enjoys a steady (sometimes overwhelming) supply

of clients.

For about 30 minutes, I watch this Corniche Sweat

Factory in action before I decide to engage some of the

patrons in small talk… I approach one volunteer football

coach responsible for soccer. After brief and pleasant

introductions, I ask Mamadou… “Why are the Senegalese

so committed to working out? What really are the main

motivations for this?”

“There is a health crisis in Senegal that is not spoken

about…Diabetes…As we all know, it is a terminal disease

that is best managed through lifestyle changes…” says a

friendly Mamadou.

Keeping Fit at the Cornichian ‘Sweat Factory’ Corniche Beach, Dakar Senegal


Probing further on how the diabetes crisis came to

be in Senegal, she says that the Senegalese consumption

of sugar is very high…and clearly hazardous…

Senegalese traditional tea (Bissap) is taken very sweet

(which is primarily why I had difficulty taking it when it

was offered to me). Compounded by the fact that Dakar

is pastry heaven that feeds the ‘sweet tooth’ of the people

of Senegal. In addition to this, Ceebujen (fried rice and

fish) their national food is typically cooked with a lot of

oil. I move along to engage two Southern belles from

Casamance area in Senegal who are taking a short recess.

On the same subject one of them admits that her key

motivation to exercise is to stay in shape and enhance

her libido and sexual performance. Her friendly quickly

concurs.

This immersion provided a lens into a positive

aspect of health and lifestyle in Senegal. Sports and

exercise is highly encouraged and practiced amongst

their youth which certainly explains why the Senegalese

(men) look so much fitter and younger than they really

are. It is probably also the reason why the Senegalese

generally take pride (rather than shy away) from the

issue of sex.

The ‘Cornichian factory’ would not happen in the

absence of a safe and relatively crime-free environment

that is in Senegal. This setting has made it a remarkably

impressive country of trust and respect for other people’s

property-which is certainly a far cry from most African

cities.

Sacre Coeur neighbourhood, Dakar:

Getting physical… A group of young ladies

gather here at 5pm every evening to work out

The Cornichian sweat factory is also a social networking opportunity for the youth

More drills

Youngsters gather at the beach every evening to work out


89

Oz is a club in a residential area in the heart of

Soweto. At around 8 PM on a Thursday night

there are two young people at the entrance. Both are

black and dressed in jeans and T-shirts. They seem to

be employees of the club. From prior information, on

this particular night, youth are required to be dressed in

smart casual wear failure to which there will be no entry

to the club. Security at the club seems on point. The

specification of the dress code is part of the security

measures taken by the club to ensure that only serious

clubbers gain access to the club.

The club is somewhat empty on arrival. There

is a bar from which drinks are sold, some tables, chairs

and a dance floor. The room is dimly lit with disco lights

all over. House music is playing and it is interesting

that this is the only music that is played the entire

night. House music is electronic dance music that

is strongly influenced by elements of soul and funk-

infused varieties of disco. It generally mimics disco’s

percussion, especially in the use of the base drum on

every beat. It has its origin in Chicago, Illinois and USA

in the 1980s. This type of music seems quite popular

and accepted by the youth in Soweto.

There is a smaller room with a glass wall on

the side that faces the dance floor and the rest of the

club. There are 2 girls already in the room who are

accompanying us as part of the observation. They are

quite cheerful, easy to get along with and free to talk about

youth and clubbing in Soweto and Joburg generally. One

of them is dressed in a knee length dress, a small sweater

and doll shoes. The other has capri pants and a T-shirt.

They are both in their early twenties. Discussions with

them reveal that young people in Soweto party almost

every day of the week though the best days are Thursday

through to Sunday because of restrictions from parents,

lack of money and school or work schedules which mean

that even if one has to party on a weekday it can’t be all

night. They say that generally people dress smart casual

but recently there has been a trend where on Friday

people come dressed sportily especially in football gear

due to excitement about the World Cup which will be

in June this year. Asked what else they like to do for fun

other than going out clubbing they say that this is pretty

much what everyone enjoys and mainly it is for the good

music and the company. One girl says that young people

also like going to the parks i.e. having parties in the parks

so they take their food, drink and music and go have a

party at the park. She says this is becoming more and

more common especially since now there is more security

provided at the parks. Policemen have been provided so

that young people can go and have their fun without fear

of being attacked.

Its happy hour at club OZ and youth make the best of it. Buy one get one free! It is only

wise to first get your supply of drinks for the evening before doing anything else.

A Night out Partying at OZ Club in Soweto


Two young people walk in, buy

their drinks and proceed to sit next to a

TV screen to watch football as they sip

their drinks in silence. Two more come

in and get their drinks as well and sit

at a table. Once in a while individuals

get up and dance at their table or just

make slight dance movements while

seated. The dance floor is not at any

point occupied.

It is happy hour and therefore

a ‘buy one get one free drink’ time.

Two young men come to join the girls.

They are also accompanying us for this

immersion. Much as they had not met

the girls before they hit it off quite well

and talk like they have always been

friends. They also go to get their drinks so as to capitalize

on the happy hour. Drinks are served in small metallic

buckets filled with ice. Most people like their drinks

chilled, hence the buckets of ice. There are so many youth

in the club in about an hour’s time. They all go to get

the drinks to take advantage of the hapy hour offer, and

hence have many ice buckets with drinks on their tables.

Noticeably, most females take canned drinks while most

males have bottled drinks.

While still in the room a group of many girls comes

in and they sit on one of the couches. One of them seems

to use her phone more than the rest. From her type of

phone, dress and the command of the group of friends,

one can tell she either has more money or is more

exposed than the rest or both. Her friends sit quietly

most of the time while she makes phone calls and types

something on her phone. Some men who appear to be

part of the group finally walk in with buckets of drinks.

Since there is not enough room for all of them they all

walk out perhaps to find another spot within the club.

At some point one of the girls accompanying us

gets her phone from her purse and we ask her what

she wants to do with it at that particular time. She says

she wants to check mail, incase anyone has mailed her

something of importance. She ends up not checking her

mail anyway but instead joins the rest.

There is a staircase that leads downstairs where

there is more space and big couches all around the room.

This room also has a bar and a DJ playing house music.

The large group of youth that had just left the other

room upstairs is already at one corner of the room and

they chat as they enjoy their drinks. One young man is

constantly on his phone, possibly browsing the internet

and only looks up every once in a while when a friend

in the group interrupts to ask or tell him something.

The dance floor here is also not occupied, but the youth

that are seated all around the room dance next to their

tables whenever they want to. All the people in the club

are noticeably black, and most likely in their 20s to 30s.

They just talk as they have their drinks. The lady from the

large group that had earlier been using her phone still

uses her phone to take pictures of the group. At some

Now that we have our drinks, let’s catch up as we listen to music. Youngsters enjoy each other’s company at the club.

A night club in Soweto. A bouncer waits at the entrance to ensure that only genuine clubbers get in. OZ is a great attraction for the youth from the hood.


91

point two young ladies are on the dance floor and they

are joined by two men. Two men walk into the club. They

looked gay from the way one of them is dressed and from

their general behavior. The one that has rather feminine

behavior sits and chats up another man while his friend

goes to get the drinks. When the drinks come they go to

a couch and sit closely together.

More discussion with the two young men who are

accompanying us reveals that other than partying the

other thing that young people tend to enjoy is going to

the movies or else just meeting up with their friends and

talking about their partying activities – what happened

where and when and what is coming up. Those who

love football are also really looking forward to the 2010

World Cup and have even purchased one or two tickets

in readiness. With the guys security does not seem to be

an issue as they say if they are partying within Soweto i.e.

not too far from their residential areas they will normally

just walk to the venue and walk home afterwards no

matter what time it is but if they have to go to a far off

place then they will try and find a friend who has a car to

go with or take a cab together and split the cost.

The rest of the evening is pretty much the same

with youth gathered in small groups, drinking and

chatting with minimal dance by their tables. In the ladies

room there are a number of ladies, seemingly doing their

make up. They all leave the room shortly at the same time.

There is also a lot of activity going on right outside the

club. There are food selling points where some people

get something to bite, and many youth just hanging out

outside. Some just sit in cars and have a good time while

others stand in groups. The cars of course have booming

music that the youth enjoy. A grocery shop just next to

the club is still open, possibly so as to serve the people

who are still hanging out outside. Although all seems well

in terms of security, the the grocery shop has been heavily

fitted with steel bars and grills seemingly to keep thieves

out implying that the place may not be as safe as it seems.

A group of ladies walks towards the club dressed in very

short dresses and skirts and high heeled shoes, probably

in preparation for the fun and entertainment that is in

store for them for the night.

We depart shortly afterwards at around 1:00 am

although for many, the night is still young just as they are.

“For me clothes are so important,the reason I want to become a politician

is so that I can make a lot of money, and buy clothes! I’m not creative at all, but i’m soobsessed to clothes of all types. I want to

present myself in different ways. I have split personalities, it depends how I feel and who i’m gonna be chilling with. I would not go around

in thetownship full of guys and wearsomething extremely Fourways or

extremely Sandton.”


Dressing

Is dress important to the youth?

The answer to this is a resounding yes. Youth

are particularly conscious about how they dress mainly

because they want to look good and impress but this can

also mean different things for different youth.

The main difference in dressing and its importance

is in terms of rural versus urban youth as well as in terms

of religious practices or tendencies, in terms of age and

occasion, family background or upbringing and overall the

category of youth that one belongs to. Dressing is actually

one of the key distinguishing factors that youth use to tell

any given youth category apart from another.

“You wont’ find a person wearing Rastafarian clothes unless they are one. If you wear the Pantula style

then you live as a Pantsula.”

Male 14-17, Johannesburg, South Africa


Ethiopia: Who will be left behind in dressing to look cool enough to walk in style? Not me.

Decency is the name of the game. Women in Kwale, Kenya often wrap themselves in lesos over their ordinary clothes. Okada driver and female customer both in

native attire or ‘ankara’ as the Nigerians call it. Oh oh, they have no helmets!

Simplicity and decency in clothes and hairstyles is evident in conformity with Zambia’s rural setting.

Yes, dress is important to the youth and shop for it they will. A lady shops at a mall in Johannesburg

Youthful attire - Caps, sunglasses, jeans and t-shirts

Kenya: Clothing stalls at the market place. Being well dressed is an important aspect of youth life and a good income earner for the very same youth.

Lay buys accepted? You have a deal! This store in Maponya mall in Soweto most likely targets the youth. A deposit and installments are all you need to look cool if you don’t have enough cash. Notice the Dickies brand that is commonly associated with the Pantsula and the Nigger youth categories.

Zambia: A second hand clothes market in Lusaka


93

“There is this saying ‘Possession isnine tenths of the law’ and the other thing which

is taken from this is ‘appearance is nine tenths of the law’ because how you appear to people is how they see you and they connect with you and

clothing is a big part of that…. So clothing isan important factor in our social acceptance.

If you dress up differently off the conventional style, you will be an outcast.”

Female, 14-17, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In some instances there appears to be an underlying

importance attached to personality and character as

compared to dressing. This is quite evident in both rural and

urban Ethiopia, Senegal and South Africa. In other countries

however dressing is deemed to be very important because

that is what the youth use to show who they are or what

they are aspiring to be. It is also important because if one is

well dressed then this helps them exude confidence.

Respondents were asked to describe what a cool / hot

guy or chick would wear and this is what they had to say:

For religious youth, dressing well or looking good

is likely to mean that they should take care not to expose

themselves; in essence dress decently. For example the

Muslim women should cover themselves up with buibuis

and hijabs or niquabs, and bubus or kaftans for men. In

Kwale, Kenya which is predominantly Muslim, the youth

also said that people are generally expected to be well

covered – shorts for instance are generally forbidden even

for men; if they have to wear them, then they should be

long, below the knees. Rural youth on the other hand tend

to prefer ‘simple’ as well as decent dressing where they do

not wear anything that would be considered showy or too

fancy for example women will not wear make-up or have

fancy hair dos. Urban areas are relatively more liberal as

compared to the rural although many youth still conform

to societal norms of decency. Youth may therefore dress

more decently in regular day to day activities and on other

ocassions such as partying and clubbing, will tend to be

more liberal and wear such things as mini-skirts, halter

tops, plunging necklines, muscle shirts, tube tops, skinny

jeans, hot pants, sagging pants with exposed boxers,

etc. In some countries like Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Senegal

traditional dress is also important especially for specific

ocassions such as church / mosque, or weddings.

Table 15: Youth descriptions of cool guys and hot chicks

Cool Guy Hot Chick

Baggy jeans, blingbling, one earring, airforce sneakers and a cap facing sideways

Anything that looks good on them

Like PDiddy, JZ or Kanye West

T-shirt and jeans are ideal. T-shirts should not be too loud with too much design; simple is cool and classy.

Short hair and sneakers

What he is comfortable with, suitable for the prevailing weather and fits his personality

High heels, flats or sneakers depending on the occasion

Mini skirt (not too short – knee length,

One way top (with one sleeve only)

Handbag

Hipsters, mini skirts, tyra shorts (hot pants), Capri pants, dress tops,

Like Beyonce

Smart instead of crazy; clothes that are well suited to her body size and shape

What she is comfortable with, suitable for the prevailing weather and fits her personality

Jeans

Nice t-shirt

Flat shoes (sneakers)

Big pants

Neck chains (bling)

Formal attire (suits and ties)

Skinny jeans

Flats

High heels (some)

Long decent skirt and top (rural)

Traditional Ethiopian dress (rural)

KEN

YAET

HIO

PIA


Cool Guy Hot Chick

Skinny jeans (some)

Golf shirts

Printed t-shirts

Nike or Addidas sneakers

Formal attire like suits (some)

Good haircut (well-shaven called ‘chiskop’)

Bright and colourful clothes

Trousers with a belt with formal shoes

Skinny jeans

High heels

Designer / expensive clothing

Knee high summer skirts

Sunglasses

Formal attire like suits (some)

Designer wear

Big t-shirts

Sagging jeans (some)

Timberland shoes

Neck chains

Sunglasses

Cap worn front side back

Formal attire (rural)

Mini skirts

Spaghetti tops or barebacks

High heels

Hot pants, hipsters and peddle pushers

Boy cut weave or hair extensions

Make-up and articificial eyebrows

Long earrings

Jeans and pretty dress tops

Long skirts and tops (rural)

Smart casual Italian wear

Well-shaven

Jeans and t-shirts

Long trousers

Tall, neat, clean and well-dressed

Good shoes (Italian)

Italian labels such as Louis Vutton

Is slim

Short skirts

Has hair that is well done

COOL: Smart

Native wear

Well-ironed clothes

HOT: Sagged jeans

Dirty boxers

Latest footwear

Fly collar

Earrings

Fancy haircut

COOL: Skirts

Jeans

Polo

Native wear (with traditional / African fabric)

Corporate look / suits

Smart and simple

HOT: Treated hair

Micro-mini

See-through clothes

Halter necks

Clothes that show off the body

Tattoo on the lower back

SOU

TH A

FRIC

AZA

MBI

ASE

NEG

AL

NIG

ERIA

*

* NB. Cool and hot have somewhat different connotations hence are defined separately

“A neat look is cool regardless of what

one wears.”

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“Like wearing very bigtrousers like someone has already said, those things are meant for prisoners so

that they couldn’t escape.... (Laughter).... When they are trying to escape, so for me

some things I do avoid, really in life, for example sagging...”

Male 14-17, Lusaka, Zambia

“That is so overrated (cool). What is cool to me is what

makes me happy. I like people that are different, they are

cool. If you can rock your own thing even if it is not the latest thing it can be cool. You have

to be an individual.”

Female 18-21, Johannesburg,

South Africa

“If one dresses with suit and a tie one would be seen as an important person, but if one dresses madly by wear-ing dreadlocks, wearing two

earrings as a man [that]would make others think one is not

responsible.”

18-21 Ikorodu, Nigeria


95

Traveling

The youth are very interested in

traveling be it simply as a pastime or to satisfy

other needs related to knowledge acquisition

and exposure as well as livelihoods. Some

just have a spirit of adventure and wish to

satisfy their curiosity about other destinations.

There is also a general perception that living

standards and the quality of education and

employment abroad is much better than that

in their own countries. Interestingly, many

youth do not necessarily want to relocate

altogether to other countries despite the

perceived better life; instead they just want

to gain exposure and borrow ideas which

they can bring back home and develop their

own. Some of the desired travel destinations

mentioned are as a result of increased media

exposure and in some instances are as a

result of influence from friends and family

who have traveled to these destinations or

currently live there. Apparently travel to other

African countries is also quite desirable to

some African youth. There were significant

mentions by youth in Kenya, Ethiopia and

Zambia who wish to travel to other African

countries. In some countries like Ethiopia and

Kenya, youth were also quite keen to travel

within their own countries. A good number

of South African youth were however not

interested in traveling altogether.

Destinations that were mentioned and the reasons thereof are as

follows:

Kenyan youth would like to travel to…

� Nairobi – from what they have heard and the pictures they have

seen, Nairobi seems very grand and life in general seems very good

there; they would like to experience it for themselves and also bring

home to Kwale the good things in Nairobi so that Kwale can be just

as good.

� Anywhere within Kenya – this is home and they wish to see the

different places and learn more about them, the people, the life,

interact with people from different ethnicities and backgrounds

and overall gain more exposure.

� Zanzibar – Just to tour and alsvo buy their lesos to sell in Kenya.

Apparently this is good business.

� Tanzania – To experience the lifestyle and just satisfy their curiosity.

Similarly the Phillipines

� Nigeria – To socialize with the Nollywood actors. Its also has the

highest population in Africa and this is quite interesting to see and

experience

� Kenyan Coast – It’s the perfect place to relax and have a good time.

“No. I come from a verydisadvantaged community

(Giyani), and when I grow up I want to give something back to

them and not forsake them”


“Travelling is not my thing. I want to be alawyer when I grow up, so travelling isn’t a

priority for me” Male 14-17, Johannesburg, South Africa.

“Hmmmm if I could travel I would go toNairobi, and I would take that Nairobi, put it in my

pocket and bring it back here…(Laughter)…”

Female 22-25, Kwale, Kenya

“When it comes to traveling I am a goer. It’s only that I don’t have enough money but ifI did I would galavant all over this world. I am

originally from Embu but moved to Kirinyaga when I was in primary up to class 4 then I went to

Chuka. For my high school I went to Mombasa and col-lege I went to Meru and Kisii. Then I worked in Mwea for some time and now I am in Nairobi. I have a new job which I am starting in Suba District next month if

you know where that is! I have also been to Garissa…”

Female 22-25, Nairobi, Kenya


� Africa – to see the geographical sites and the nature

then once they have been all over Africa, Asia would

be next on the list

� Egypt – have heard from friends who visited that it is

an interesting place and there are cute guys there and

nice gifts and mementos that you can buy to bring

back to your friends

� Mauritius – different and exotic experience; heard of

this from family members who have been there

� South Africa – to attend the 2010 world cup, meet

Mandela, visit Robbin Island, meet Jacob Zuma

� Countries abroad in general – to seek greener

pastures and to have some time away from family and

familiarity. They believe living abroad would present

better opportunities i.e. even janitorial jobs pay better

than they do in Kenya, and freedom to explore their

potential. Some youth are not concerned about

which country in specific; they are open to exploring

whatever any country has to offer.

� USA and UK – they think that the economy there

is better than in Kenya, they wish to go and see for

themselves and just compare whether life is better

there than it is in Kenya. If it is better there, then they

want to bring home some good ideas to help make

Kenya a better place. Some want to go live and work

there since they feel there are better opportunities

there and there is no corruption like in Kenya which

makes earning a living difficult

� Standford Bridge in the UK – because he supports

Chelsea in the English League; another would like to

go to England to see Rooney.

� Hollywood – Love of acting and aspirations to be a

great actor some day.

� London – to see River Thames and the cars that are

manufactured there and the motor industry in general

and reconcile with past and present in terms of what

Kenya’s former colonial masters benefited in the long

run from colonizing Kenya in the first place – are the

benefits still evident?

� Germany – the motor industry and also because learnt

some German in school so would like to interact with

the people and speak the language more. Also to

further their studies

� Haiti – Have heard that it is the poorest country in the

world and are quite intrigued and curious about this

seeing as they think they are already struggling so

much in Kenya therefore how much harder can it be

for the people of Haiti?

� UAE – to play women’s football and become a role

model for other talented young Kenyans

� Jamaica – to see Elephant Man. Have also heard that

bhang and cigarettes are readily available and would

like to see how true this is

� Brazil – It is less populous country as compared to

Kenya and so should be a good place to stay. Also

meet the international footballers and the beautiful

women

� China – to learn more about engineering and generally

gain more technical knowledge

� Japan – for the cultural experience

� Dubai – those who have some business aspirations

and their friends and relatives who have been there

speak very positively about it in terms of business.

Many Kenyans go to Dubai to bring in various types of

merchandise to sell in Kenya.

Ethiopian youth would like to travel to…

� Lalibela – because they have learnt about it in History

and it has rock hewn churches which they would love

to see; this is unique to Ethiopia and a heritage to be

proud of.

� Axum – because they have learnt about it in History;

it has the giant obelisk which are regarded as some of

the finest examples architecture in the world.

� Hawasa / Awasa – because the scenery is green and

beautiful. This is the southern part of the Great Rift

Valley.


97

� Gondar – this was a religious city and they are proud to be

associated with its history

� Gurage – the people there are marginalized; would like to

learn more about how they live

� Bahir dar – it is a naturally green area in the southern part

� London – it is a multicultural city whereby immigrants

actually own their own homes. Also due to architectural

and art heritage which they would like to see

� Dubai – so as to see and learn more about unique

architectural designs

� USA – to see the Lincoln memorial having read about it

and watched it on TV. Also perceived as a fun place to be

� Israel – for pilgrimage reasons; to experience and

associate with the birth and life of Jesus. Another was

interested because of their strong military.

� Arab countries and African countries – where there exist

conflict and war just to understand the social problems

that are causing this.

South African youth would like to travel to…

� Port Elizabeth – there is not much talked or shown about

this place hence would like to see it for themselves

� London – a lot of people have gone there and would like

to know how they live

� New York – would like to one day be a producer and has

heard that it has a lot in common with the townships in

SA like crimes and gangsters

� USA – Most people seem educated and they like

education, for its beauty especially New York

� Cape Town – Low crime rate

� Cape Town and Durban – loves water

� England – looks fascinating and beautiful

� Switzerland – people look calm and collected; it must be

so much fun and welcoming

� Paris – Love, passion and those good looking men

� Brazil – they are mad about football

� Nigeria – they have pastors with healing powers like

Pastor Chris

� Jamaica – their accent! I love their accent

� Barbados – It is beautiful, has beautiful people and

Ronaldo was born there

� Botswana – Has family there, the government is

well grounded, free education and security

Zambian youth would like to travel to…

� River Kafue (Zambia)

� USA – because of the good life as they see in the

movies, for live performances e.g. 50 cents, people

mind their own business

� Sweden – to learn their development strategy

� England – the education system is good, to see

Wayne Rooney.

� Mexico – looks attractive on TV, to learn the

language

“The States, because life is goodthere. Everyone minds their own

business and you can do whateveryou want to do. They believe in

expressing themselves, each andevery one of them, like I for once I don’t

enjoy the traditional stuff like inmarriage where you have to startrespecting your husband or what.

I believe am not for that. I have hanged out with couples from the states and just the way they carry out themselves, hang out and play, it’s just like they are dating

and so when they get married it keeps the spark going.”



� Jamaica – because of the music and the people

� Italy – to see the tradition, the historical ruins and

churches

� Dubai – advanced technology

� South Africa – advanced technology, high employment

rate, to eat apples, see monuments, to see the motor

vehicle company in Cape Town

� Tanzania – to import clothes and foodstuffs for business

� Kenya – to see if people are as rich as she has heard

they are; to see the wild animals in the game parks

� Egypt – to see the pyramids

� Zimbabwe – to visit relatives, to see whether people

are indeed dying of hunger

� Nigeria – to meet the Nollywood actors

Senegalese youth would like to travel to…

� Spain – because of the sports (soccer) and for

livelihoods

� USA – good quality education that is also arts based,

perceive the people to be straightforward hence

business is good and transparent, nice lifestyle,

dancing and singing, Obama is their idol

� Mecca – For Al Haj (pilgrimage)

� Italy – Because apparently a lot of their friends have

gone there and made it, it is pastry heaven

� Japan – they have a strong sense of culture although

they also have high suicidal rate

� Canada – it is a peaceful country and good education

system, employees are well paid and there are

numerous informal employment opportunities

� England – to learn English and good pronunciation

� Egypt – because of the history and Egyptian movies

and beautiful Egyptian girls

� France – the technology is advanced, for the fashion

� Belgium – employment after study is almost

guaranteed

� Hawaii

Nigerian youth would like to travel to…

� Kano – to see animals which are rare in the western

part of the country

� Calabar – it is beautiful and there is less corruption

� Akwa Ibom – because it is a neat state and there is less

corruption. You can also make soup for only Naira 100

(EUR 0.5)

� Ghana – to pursue business opportunities

� South Africa – for the numerous job opportunities

� Turkey and UAE – because they produce oil

� China – to gain technology exposure and ideas

� Paris – heard that it is beautiful

� USA – have good technology, low corruption and

good security

� Canada – heard of job opportunities there and for

general experience

� Spain – to see Ronaldo, children are not beaten, to

learn how to build night clubs

� UK – to visit relatives, people there are better behaved

and mature, for further education, to play football for

the English clubs

� India – just love the people


99

Dreams and aspirations

Based on the discussions with youth during the

study it appears that their dreams are more often than not

related to succeeding in life so that they and their families

can have good livelihoods and live comfortable lives. Be

it a dream or desire to travel, to attain a certain education,

or to utilize their personal talents, all this often relates

back to the need to earn good money and hence lead a

comfortable life. The youth want to be able to satisfy all

their basic needs such as food, good shelter, clothing and

education and then have something left over to spend on

wants. Generally the younger youth have very specific and

numerous dreams and life goals but as they get older and

come face to face with certain life realities, they begin to

lower their expectations and goals in line with this. For

instance those youth who have had to drop out of school

hence cannot compete on the same level as those who have

been fortunate enough to attain a high level of education,

tend to lower their livelihood goals to ‘realistic’ targets. For

example such youth may only aspire to get some casual

work that will earn them their daily bread; they are content

with whatever is enough to get by on a day to day basis.

They no longer aspire to growth and development beyond

their immediate communities; they simply aspire to get

married, have children and find ways of supporting their

families.

Kenya

Ethiopia

South Africa

Zambia

“My dream is that I don’t reach 28 years without a car”


“Whenever your government is not able to provide a job, it gives you an opportunity to get

into entrepreneurship.”

Male 18-21, Youth Scout, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“A permanent job, and being able to give back to the community.It must also be the kind of job where I can transfer my skills

to the next person so that if I retiresomeone can carry on with my duties.”


“I think that this subject Technical Drawing is not very common in many schools like

the school I go to. I really wanted to do it because I had these dreams of my future… I wanted to be an engineer and my parents told me that then I needed to take TD, but

now the school I go to its not there so I tried book keeping but you see I had no interest in

the subject.”

Male 14-17, Lusaka, Zambia

“Because I have split personalities I would like a job where I can be involved in opera-tions during the day and be like a theatrical

godess by night.”


“I could have been a pilot but myparents were unable to educate me,

I don’t blame them though. Even if I only got to class three at least I managed to get rid of some illiteracy and ignorance – At least I can read and

I can also count some money so I am grateful for that. Now I can do some odd jobs and earn

some money.”

Female 22-25, Kwale, Kenya

“Just work hard at what you want. That is my motto. I usually say I will be a

sonko (rich person)…. I just want to finish college this year, I build myself and start

helping my family.”


“My dream is that 2 years afterI complete school, I want to be part of the

Kenya National Team 15s (Rugby)”



Senegal

Nigeria

In line with their dreams and aspirations, the

definition of success is also related to wealth accumulation

and higher education. Most of the youth however do not

have very elaborate plans of how they are working towards

achieving this success. For most it is simply about working

hard and ensuring they complete their education in order

to succeed in life. Also, there is the aspect of ‘connections’

which a significant number of youth feel would be

necessary for them to succeed particularly in getting jobs.

Similarly some kind of sponsorship for education

is deemed necessary. In some countries like Ethiopia

and Zambia, furthering education appears to be quite

popular amongst the youth at all levels; aspiring to achieve

more than they currently have. In terms of other sets of

skills required for success, some youth talk about specific

additional professional courses in line with their study

discipline, while others recognize the importance of soft

skills and personal characteristics and virtues such as good

interpersonal skills, dressing and presentation, confidence,

honesty, language fluency, among others. Due to their

religious dispositions, there are also other youth who

believe that God plays a big role in their success.

What about fastracking their way to success?

Do the youth think it is necessary?

Many youth would be happy to fastrack their way

to success though many concede that this is generally not

possible hence they simply have to go it the long way. The

pressures of life particularly for the low income and rural

youth seem to push them more towards the desire to fastrack

as compared to middle and upper income youth whose

immediate and family needs are already well taken care of.

One of the possible ways of fastracking as mentioned by

the youth is through having the right ‘connections’ in order

to get ahead. Also, having the resources at one’s disposal to

bribe or pay their way through in order to get there faster

or conceding sexual favours. Some youth also get involved

in the ‘unconventional’ ways of earning a living such as

drug peddling, prostitution, internet scams, and robbery

since these are also deemed to be ways of earning quick

and easy money.

“Yes there are many successful youth. Do you know the region of Luga?

There are youth who are working in Spain, the best example is those Senegalese from

Luga and Italy where one can succeed even as a youth.”

Male 18-2,1 Thies, Senegal

“I would like to be a doctor but it is too late! Because of my age they have said

that if you are more than 20 years old you are not allowed to do medicine at Univer-

sity of Cheikh Anta Diop.”

Male 18-21, Dakar, Senegal

“I’ve always wanted to be a hip hop artiste, but my parents never supported me,

but school has made me educated enough to write and compose lyrics and the environment

has boosted my ability to sing.”

Male 18-21, Ikorodu, Nigeria

“Corruption. If it can fade out then people can get jobs in a normal manner without using the other way that if you don’t have relatives even if you have the papers you can’t get anywhere. So if you don’t know anyone you will not even

be able to get a job in bank, you can even become a cashier yet you have a degree in ac-

countancy.”

Female 18-21, Lusaka Zambia

“We start saving in secondary schoolso that when we finish, we have enough

money to pay bribes so as to get jobs.For example at Kenya Ports one has to pay

KES 20 to the watchman at the gatejust so that he can let you in to go

and ask for a job…”



101

There are a few youth on the other hand who do not

want to fastrack their way to success. According to them,

there is value in going through the motions and processes to

eventually succeed in life. This they feel is more sustainable

because of the experience that one gains along the way.

Some also prefer to avoid fastracking through bribery and

connections as this would place a burden on them in terms

of always owing someone a favour.

Asked about role models, many youth across the

countries of study have positive things to say about family

members who they look up to. Mothers in particular

receive a lot of mention due to their hardwork and sacrifice

in order to provide for their children. They also say that

their mothers are strong women who have succeeded in

one way or another even in certain difficult circumstances

e.g. single mothers. Mothers are also said to be supportive,

caring, and nurturing and overall a great inspiration to their

children. In some places like South Africa, grandmothers

also receive the same accolades many of them having

brought up these youth in the absence of their parents.

Other family and relatives are also mentioned as role

models such as fathers, uncles, aunts and older siblings.

Various reasons are attached to this such as integrity,

financial success and stature in the community, family

support, among others. Nigeria is generally an exception

in that there is little mention of family members as role

models. Instead they tend to talk about internationally

recognized personalities as their role models. Other

types of role models across the different countries include

teachers, religious leaders, actors, musicians, political

leaders, athletes and other sports personalities, business

magnates and activists of various causes.

There are also some youth who have no role models.

For some this is as a result of disillusionment having found

out certain negative characteristics of people they once

looked up to as role models while others prefer to select or

learn from specific positive aspects of given personalities

as opposed to taking the whole as their role model. This

is evident even for a few youth who do mention specific

people as their role models but qualify this in terms of the

specific aspects for which they consider these persons

as role models. As such a young person can end up with

several role models based on different aspects of their life

which they consider important.

“Some guy managed to hack intothe system of a varsity and had

himself registered as a proper student and according to the ‘system’ paid his fees. The only mistake he made was to make it look like the varsity also owed him money. But instead

of having him arrested some huge IT company offered him a job because he

was that good.”


“I think there are a few times thatyou need to move fast. Like my friend,we were in the same class in Grade 9

but I don’t know what happened, whenwe wrote Grade 9, right now he is doingEngineering but me I am still in Grade 12,so I really don’t know what happened or

what he did to get there…. He is in college doing engineering. So I asked him but he

told me that… connections.. that he wrote,something like that… So I mean theparents are already rich and they arepushing him to get that education so

he is doing his last year now… So there are times you can feel you want to do things fast but because of connections

(lack of) you can’t get there.”Female 18-21, Johannesburg, South Africa “For my spiritual aspect and moral

standards I take from my mum. She is a level minded person. She is a person I

relate to everyday in whatevercircumstances. She is the one who will

tell you to shut up, wait for things to calm down before you take any step. Financially maybe Oprah Winfrey. She has just taken an aspect of just talking in the media and then she has been able to make so much

from it. When it comes to developing other people and taking care of the people

around me I would think of NelsonMandela; 27 years in prison and then you come out and think about everybody be-fore yourself. I don’t know them person-

ally so I take aspects of them that I know.”Female 22-25, Nairobi, Kenya


There are also those youth who generally prefer to

believe only in themselves and live their lives in accordance

to personal values without emulating anyone.

Specific role models mentioned in the different

countries are as follows:

Kenya

z President Moi (former) – brought about unity; ability

to mobilize people towards a given cause; encouraged

people not to be individualistic but nowadays all this

is gone. (“One day, God willing if I become President, I

will be like Moi”.) Nyayo milk for school kids. Not always

strict but gave and reached out to the young ones –

approachable.

z Oprah Winfrey – Financial success

z Nelson Mandela – Developing other people and taking

care of those around him; selflessness

z Michelle Obama – She is a strong woman

z Bill Gates – He is rich and also loves comps but mainly

coz he is rich. Its all about the money

z TI (musician) – He is real; he is himself; doesn’t pretend

to be what he is not

z Wangari Maathai – for her role in environmental

conservation

z Elephant Man (reggae / raga musician) – His style

z Christiano Ronaldo – likes how he plays football and

how to handle rough players

z Susumila (local musician) – His music has a message, he

is laid back, dresses decently and keeps good company.

“You cannot just have one role model be-cause there are many different role models,

social, sports, professional, etc. In social terms my mother is my role model, in sports

Drogba is my model, in religion Touba(religious teachers) is my model.”

Male 18-21, Dakar, Senegal

Susumila is a Kenyan artist based

in Mombasa. He has managed

to produce two albums namely

Ngangari Kinoma and Haki Iko

Wapi. He was rated as one of Coast’s

hottest entertainers in 2009. His

music is a fusion of dancehall and

hip hop and apparently he has

positioned himself as a controversial

artiste which has worked very well

for him. He speaks out on certain

political issues in some of his music.

Sheila Mwanyigha whose

stage name is Nikki is a Kenyan

musician and radio presenter.

She first appeared on the music

scene in 1997. Since then she has

written various pieces of music,

sang back up for other celebrated

Kenyan musicians or collaborated

with them as well as featured

on 2 Kenyan compilation CDs / albums with other artistes.

Nikki has received national music awards such as the Kisima

awards and been nominated on the international scene

for the Channel O music awards. She once dated another

Kenyan musician known as CMB Prezzo and this received

mixed reactions from her fans some of who were altogether

not pleased.

Chris Kirubi is in the list of Kenya’s

richest. He is a businessman

and entrepreneur owning or

having large shares in various

large companies in Kenya and

properties. These include

International Life House in

Nairobi, Capital FM, DHL Kenya,

Haco Industries, Uchumi

Supermarkets, among others. He was also recently referred

Photo: www.facebook.com/pages/SUSUMILA/150748817921

Photo: www.mziki.com

Photo: www.mziki.com

z Sheila Mwanyigha – Has a don’t care attitude; remains

strong no matter what people say about her

z Chris Kirubi – Great business acumen so would like to

be like him; own companies and employ people.


103

The late Ashina Kibibi is

one of Kenya’s reknowned

actresses and script writers.

Kibibi was well known

for her popular television

series Lea Mwana, which

was aired by KBC and

Asali, which was aired by

KTN. She had Bachelors

and Masters degrees from the University of Nairobi,

which she joined in October 1989. She was one of 12

winners from across the globe selected for the 2004-

05 University of Maryland Humphrey Fellowship at the

Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Around 2001, she

launched her own production company BNZ. Asali had

its trial debut on KTN in early 2001. Kibibi came into

the national limelight when she appeared as Nina in

Zingatia and went on to captivate TV audiences in the

soap Tausi. She also wrote and directed Kasheshe in

which she appeared as Malkia. Kibibi won a British

Comedy Writers’ Association movie script writing

competition in December 2003. Her script My Wife

scooped first prize. She also emerged tops in a class

of 13 scriptwriters from across Africa who attended a

three-week course in Zimbabwe. Kibibi exported her

soaps to Tanzania, where her first appearance had

police intervening to keep off thousands of fans who

mobbed her upon learning she was in the country.

Ms Ashina Kibibi, committed suicide on the afternoon

of Mar. 30, 2005 by hanging herself. Family sources

revealed that she had been unwell.

John Adoli is the founder and

director of the Kibera Hamlets,

a youth lead community

organisation in Kibera which

he started after completing his

secondary school in Mbale in

2002. He is also a member of

the Sports Council at Carolina

for Kibera. He is 22 years old and

living in Gatwekera, Kibera. He

holds a diploma in community

development and social work from Flopeze International

College. He is pursuing a degree of the same. He has a passion

for working with disadvantaged communities and touching

lives of his fellow youth and children.

Photo: www.kenyanlist.com

z Ashina Kibibi – Her talent in acting.

z John Adoli – Chairperson of Kibera Hamlets; admire

how he teachers dance and other theatrical stuff

and helps others; he is understanding. Aspires to

also start own similar group when older and go out

and teach others.

to as DJ CK on the media scene i.e. Capital FM where he

got to do his thing. In certain one on one interviews,

Chris Kirubi shares more on his interests – public work;

more or less trying to become an activist, and get the

Government to change or improve policies, in order

to create a conducive business environment. He feels

that Kenyans need more training on business and

entrepreneurship.

Ethiopia

z Lionel Messi – has worked very hard to achieve his dreams

z Ronaldo – has worked very hard to achieve his dreams

z Barack Obama – has worked very hard to achieve his

dreams

z Haile Selassie – has worked very hard to achieve his dreams

z Oprah Winfrey – she is a good communicator and is

successful in the media

z Malcolm X – He struggled for equality and peace for young

people in America though he did not see the fruits of his

struggle

z Mahatma Gandhi – able to change things about his society

without violence

z Martin Luther King – able to change things about his

society without violence

z Nelson Mandela – able to change things about his society

without violence


Tom Wright is the architect and

designer of the Burj Al Arab

(tower of the Arabs) in Dubai,

a self proclaimed 7 star hotel.

It stands on an artificial island

and is the second tallest hotel

in the world.

Mohammed Al Amoudi is

Ethiopia’s richest person and

is ranked as one of the world’s

richest persons by Forbes. He

is mixed Ethiopin and Yemeni

but he immigrated to Saudi

Arabia in 1965 and became a

Saudi citizen. He has recently

been named as one of the

Clinton Foundation Donors and has also made several

donations to hospitals, NGOs and other causes in Ethiopia.

Dr. Belay Abegaz, is an Ethiopian

Pediatric Cardiologist. He has

studied Medicine and specialized

in Pediatric Cardiology, was

certified and licensed by eligible

authorities both in Ethiopia and

the United States of America.

Dr. Belay Abegaz, is permanently

settled in Addis Ababa as a Consultant in the field of Pediatric

Cardiology, owning and directing a flourishing medical

practice-”Brook Medical Services PLC” and as a distinguished

philanthropist with his ‘’CHILDREN’S HEART FUND OF

ETHIOPIA”, where he is striving to promote a Cardiac Center

setup in Ethiopia.

She is the founder of the Jane

Goodall institute and has worked

extensively on conservation and

animal welfare issues. She is best

known for her 45 year study of

social and family interactions

of wild chimpanzees in Gombe

Stream National Park in Tanzania.

She is therefore considered to be

the world’s foremost expert in

chimpanzees.

z Tom Wright – He comes up with very architectural

designs from what he observes. I learn from him

persistence and patience

z Jane Goodall – Would like to be an environmental

activist like her because has great respect to nature

and the environment

z Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi – He is the ‘wealthiest’

person in Ethiopia. He helps people in his country and

more so the needy.

z Dr. Belay Abegas – He is a cardiologist. He has done

great for his country. He is patient and persistent.

“These days it seems so hardespecially in Africa to bring

about change without violence. People have become violent.

I admire these people for being peaceful and not hurting people

in their effort to changeand preserve their rights.”


Photo: http://www.tomwrightdesign.com/web/burj_al_arab.php

Photo: http://nazret.com/blog/index

Photo: http://www.chfe.org.et/boardmembers.html

Photo: http://en.wikipidea.org/wiki/jane_Goodall

South Africa

z Oprah Winfrey – the way she dresses; very classy and

elegant

z Beyonce – loves her music

z Nelson Mandela – Managed to fight for the country and

causes like HIV, his contribution to the black struggle

z Teko Modise – A Bafana Bafana player. Loves the way

he plays soccer.


105

Cheikh Anta Diop (1923-

1986) was a historian,

anthropologist, physicist,

and politician who studied

the human race’s origins

and pre-colonial African

culture. He is regarded

a modern champion of

African identity and an

important figure in the

development of the Afro-centric viewpoint, in particular

for his controversial theory that the Ancient Egyptians were

Black Africans. He believed that only by re-examining Africa’s

distorted, maligned and obscured place in world history

could the physical and psychological shackles of colonialism

be lifted from the Motherland and Africans in diaspora.

Cheikh Anta Diop University, in Dakar, Senegal is named

after him. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest

influencers of African thought in the 20th century.

Yékini is the nickname of Yakhya

Diop, a popular champion of the

sport and for two decades now,

has emerged the most successful

professional wrestler since. His

appearances are major news in

his home country. His 2006 fight

against and defeat of Mouhamed

Ndao, alias Tyson, was billed in

Senegal as “the fight of the century”,

cementing the two as the best known exponents of the

sport. As of March 2010, Yékini remains undefeated in fifteen

years of professional bouts. Senegalese wrestling (La lutte

sénégalaise) is a type of folk wrestling traditional to Senegal

and parts of the Gambia and is part of the larger West African

traditional wrestling. Transcending ethnic groups, the sport

enjoys the status of national support. Today it is very popular

as an indication of male athletic strength and ability. Today it

is organized by business promoters who offer prizes for the

winners.

Modise was born in

Meadows, Soweto

and was raised by his

mother in Diepkloof.

He was recently

appointed ambassador

by global company Mc

Donald’s for the 2010

FIFA World Cup and

also the ambassador

for Coca-Cola, Nike,

Telkom and Samsung.

z Yekini – Wrestler

z Shahiri – A famous Senegalese journalist who has a

good mastery of the Senegal society and its challenges

and knows how to articulate it

Photo: www.nerrati.net

Photo: www.espace-martial.com/album/data/media/122/yekini6.JPG

Photo: www.dispatch.co.za/2007/11/23/Sport/aalead.html

Zambia

z Nelson Mandela – For his determination and politics

z Tupac Shakur – He spoke the truth

z President Kenneth Kaunda (former) – He fought for

Zambia and his HIV work

z Oprah Winfrey – Helps people and children

z President Rupiah Banda (RB) – The way he flies in his

plane, his command and his power.

z Pastor Angala – For the way he preaches and his comic

nature. He is a local pastor in Lusaka in the SDA church.

z Pastor John Carson – Would like to preach like him.

Senegal

z Didier Drogba – He is a talented football player

z Michael Jordan – He is a self made man; he started by

himself and has become somebody

z President Barack Obama – Charisma and personality

z Michael Jackson – just like that

z Akon – He is a superstar who is a Senegalese

z Zinadine Zidan – He is a talented football player

z Cheikh Anta Diop – He loved Africa very much and

wanted it to flourish


Nigeria

z Martin Luther King – He imparted a lot on humanity

z David Beckam – His football skills

z Ronaldo – His football skills

z Bill Gates – The fact that he dropped out inspires one

that they can drop out and still make it in life

z Didier Drogba – His football skills

z Ben Carson – His skill as a neurosurgeon and how he

has helped many

z Tupac Shakur – His inspiring music, his hard life

z Triple 8 – He is a boxer; his boxing style is admirable

z Femi Kuti – Took over his father’s legend and was able

to sustain it

He is the son of the legendary

Fela Kuti, a Nigerian Afrobeat

singer. He is considered a role

model for having taken over his

father’s legacy and managing

to successfully build on it. He

is a twice Grammy nominated

musician who also is committed

to social and political causes in

his country.

Jim Iyke, is considered a role

model for his acting skills. He

has a degree in philosophy and

after trying to find a job for a long

time landed in acting. Apart from

Nigerian movies, he has done

some international movies. He

also has a foundation that helps

children with special needs.

Yinka Quadri is a Nigerian actor,

director and producer of great

repute.

Genevieve Nnaji, 31 is an

actress, model and singer in

Nigeria. She has won many

awards in her acting career and

is one of Nollywood’s best paid

actors. She also started her own

clothing label ‘St.Genevieve’

in 2005. She was considered a

role model because she acts well and speaks fluently. She is

also considered to have a unique dressing style.

Funke Akindele 34, is a

Nigerian actress. She has

also written and directed

some Yoruba films. She was

considered a role model

because she takes on roles

that ‘make sense’.

Wole Soyinka is

perhaps Nigeria’s best

known author, poet

and playwright. He

was the first African to

be awarded the Nobel

Prize for literature

in 1986. He is also a

UNESCO Goodwill ambassador. He is considered a role model

because of his life story and his style of writing.

Photo: passionweis.com

Photo: ghananation.com

Photo: izognmovies.com

Photo: izognmovies.com

Photo: odili.netPhoto: hornbillunleashed.wordpress.com

z Wole Soyinka – Love the way he writes and the story

of his life

z Jim Iyke – The way he acts

z Yinka Quadri – an actor and producer

z Genevieve – The highest paid local actress

z Funke Akindele – actress


107

Omotola Jalade- Ekiende

is a famous Nigerian

actress and singer. She is

married with four children

and is involved in charity

work. Apart from her

acting skills, she was also

considered a role model

for her dressing style and

the way that she sings and

dances

Joke Silva has been acting for

the last three decades. She has

acted on stage, television, radio

and film in Nigeria, England

and south of France. She is

also involved in advocating for

women’s and children’s issues.

She was considered a role model

because of her acting skill and also for the way that she

expresses herself.

Aliko Dangote – For impacting

a lot by providing jobs

Alhaj Aliko Dangote was

chosen as a role model for the

way he has created jobs for

many people. He is the CEO/

president of the Dangote

Group which is the largest industrial company in Nigeria

with interests in sugar, cement, salt, pasta, poly products,

oil, gas, real estate, beverages and telecommunications. He

is reputed to be the third richest person of African descent

in the world.

Photo: nairaland.com

Photo: sunnewsonline.com

Photo: thenewafricantimes.com

z Omutola Jolade – She is an actress

z Joke Silva – actress

z Aliko Dangote – For impacting a lot by providing jobs

The youth interviewed were asked to describe any

young people they know in their community or country

that have made a difference in one way or another. Most

youth across the countries struggled to find relevant local

examples that they could share; the mentions were either

of people who do not qualify as ‘young’, of international

personalities far removed from the realities of life on the

local scene, or of people who have accrued some personal

financial success but not necessarily done anything to

inspire or support the community. This implies that young

people in Africa could be lacking relevant local role models

that they can relate to. The few examples of young people

making a difference on the local scene were as follows:

Cynthia Kanema Zambia Super Model

An 18-21 year old Lusaka

female said that Cynthia had

achieved a lot as a model and

was also helping up coming

models. According to her

website profile, Cynthia was

Miss Zambia 2003 to 2005.

In 2004 she was Miss Africa

International. Presently she is

the Executive Producer of the

popular reality show, Cynthia

Kanema’s Search for Zambia’s

Super Model. She is also the

executive Director of True Ebony Achievements and the CEO

of True Ebony productions. She is also a spokeswoman for

Cervical Cancer in Zambia Programme.

(http://www.cynthiakanema.com)

Esther Phiri 23, female light weight boxer

A 22-25 year

old Lusaka male

mentioned Esther

because she has

managed to get

i n t e r n a t i o n a l

belts. Recently in

the news, Esther

defeated brazilian

Duda Yankovich to

get her sixth title; WIBA welter weight world title. She also

has held other world and intercontinental titles in the welter

weight and feather weight categories.

Former president Levi Mwanawasa once praised her for

succeeding regardless of obstacles and challenges that

Photo: http://www.women.sanook.com


Perceptions

In order to establish what youth think of themselves

and by extension how society perceives the youth, the

respondents were asked to discuss some of the things

they like and dislike about their age. Generally across the

different age sets, youth seem to acknowledge that they

have a lot of energy, and that they are at the point in their

lives where they have a lot of potential to explore, develop

and prove themselves at whatever opportunities exist.

Since they are young, there is also room to make mistakes,

learn from them and / or take corrective measures.

The youth also like that by virtue of their youthful

nature, this is an age where they can have a lot of fun –

partying, traveling, exploring other hobbies and talents

such as sports, without the limitations of the later years

of life e.g. children and spouses, which come with certain

responsibilities. In Kenya for example some rural female

youth (22-25) acknowledged that they had been forced to

grow up too fast as a result of having had children at an early

age and therefore could not express similar enthusiasm for

their youthfulness as could the single and childless youth.

Independence and certain freedoms associated with

attaining legal status is also quite appreciated by many

youth. They said that they like being able to make their own

decisions on a day to day basis e.g. those who are already

living on their own, either studying or working. There is

said to be less parental interference and control especially

for those living on their own. The younger youth 14-17 and

also some of the 18-21 females however complain of too

much parental control though they also acknowledge that

it is because their parents are afraid and don’t want them

to make costly mistakes. Some of the ways in which their

parents impose restrictions is through things like curfews,

demanding to know where they are going, with whom and

for what purpose; also being forbidden to have boyfriends

/ girlfriends at certain ages. Despite the youth being happy

about the freedom and independence that come with age,

Emmanuel Mbola 16 year old footballer Totenham Hotspurs FC England

A 22-25 yr old Lusaka

male said that

Emmanuel had set

an example to the

Zambian youth and

given hope that they

could also make it in

football. Born in 1993

in Kabwe, Emmanuel

began playing with the

Mining Rangers in 2007

and moved to Zanaco

FC the next where he

played for a year. From

2009 to early this year

he played in Armenia for Pyunic Yerevun. In February 2010 he

joined Totenham Hotspur FC as a leftback in a million pound

deal. He also plays for the national team and is considered

one of Africa’s most promising talents.

(http://www.daylife.com/topic/Emmanuel_Mbola)

were in her way. Esther’s father died when she was a young

child forcing the family into hard times. She lived with her

grandmother in a low income area in Lusaka helping her to

sell groceries and second hand clothes. She dropped of school

at grade six and became a mother at the age of sixteen. She

got involved in a youth centred HIV awareness project started

by an NGO that was combining health education with sport.

Despite being mocked she got into boxing where her talent

was soon revealed. She was soon training with a professional

boxer.

Due to her success, she, her daughter and grandmother now

live in a middle income house and she is now finishing her

education. She is now a household name and she encourages

women to join the sport.

(http://www.wban.org/biog/ephiri.htm)

Photo: http://www.women.sanook.com

Photo: http://www.ukzambians.co.uk

“There is a young man who usedto work as a coach for a junior soccer

team until he lost his job. Even when thismeant that he also lost his livelihood

it didn’t discourage him as he returned tocoach the boys again without a salary.

Some of his boys now representthe country at the under 17s level.”

Male 14-17, Johannesburg South Africa

“I like it because I can still decidewhat I want to be as opposed to anolder

person who is already say a teacher. I can still decide that I want to be

a Psychologist in 5 years time, you canstill be whatever you want to be…”

Male 14-17, Johannesburg South Africa


109

some of them, particularly the older ones are also conscious

of the responsibilities that come with this and express fear

of making wrong decisions that could easily have a great

impact on their future. They therefore somewhat dislike

attaining age of legal status as a result.

Youth in the older age sets also like being recognized

as mature enough to be consulted and give their opinion

on important family issues as compared to the younger

ones who are not required to actively participate in such

issues. Some however feel that they are still not being

given enough room to contribute and are instead often

seen as too young and too inexperienced hence would

not add much value in any given situation. Others also feel

that certain things are kept from them as they are deemed

not to be mature enough to handle difficult situations;

the parents tend to want to shelter them. Some youth are

happy about the fact that they are still young enough to

benefit from parental care where all their needs are taken

care of as compared to the older youth (22-25) who are at

a stage where they basically have to fend for themselves

Other dislikes of being young particularly for the

younger age set 14-17 is peer pressure and difficulty in

“I think we are exposed to too muchthings and we end up making

bad choices. Right now we need to beworking hard to secure our futuresinstead of just being exited about

weekends, and being promiscuous.”


“As for me I am 14 years. I like that because life is too short.Yes it is good to be 23 years and

have more freedom but there are also challenges. You will have to face your

problems alone without theassistance of your parents.

This is where life becomes hard. For that reason I would like to remain a child of 14 to 16 years so that my

parents can care for me and provide me with whatever I want.”

Male 14-17 Saly, Senegal

coping or interacting with the opposite sex. They are afraid

of teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, drugs

and alcohol abuse. Some of them also express difficulty

in coping with physiological changes associated with

adolescence and puberty. A few girls in Kwale, Kenya were

however excited at the prospect of these changes as they

signify a move from childhood to womanhood. Similarly

in Senegal these changes were received very positively

as it made the youth feel more physically attractive to the

opposite sex.

Society has both positive and negative perceptions

of the youth. In terms of positives, there are places in

Africa where the older generation generally depend on

the youth in terms of livelihood and also as the hope for

a better future hence tend to lay a lot of emphasis on the

importance of the youth in getting an education. There are

therefore various initiatives and efforts that have come up

in the recent years by governments, other development

organizations and communities related to education and

livelihoods so as to help and uplift the youth. It appears

however that these initiatives are yet to have the desired

impact on the youth as a whole given that the reach is

limited hence not all the youth have equitable access. Also

much as the youth appreciate the efforts being directed

towards them in terms of education and livelihoods, they

sometimes feel stressed and overwhelmed due to the high

expectations and demands for them to do well. In Zambia

for example some youth were reported to be constantly

‘angry’ at their parents who keep on pushing them for

high academic performance; they sometimes feel that it’s

the parents who have more to gain from it than they do

hence why they push them so hard. There is generally a

contradiction or irony of sorts in terms of what the society

expects of the youth and the hope that they have vested

in the youth for the future versus the current status quo

where the older generation keeps holding on to livelihood

opportunities rather than make room for the youth as

discussed in the chapter on livelihoods. In addition older

adults are also said on many ocassions to dismiss the youth

as too young and inexperienced hence never really giving

them a chance to make any important contributions. Many

youth feel that they are hardly given a chance to participate

in any meaningful development and decision making at

various levels. However some Key Informants also pointed

out that youth are not always proactive in seeking the

opportunities to participate or contribute.


Based on discussions with both the youth

respondents and Key Informants, it is apparent that society

is also not sustainably preparing the youth for future life

in a holistic manner. There is much more focus on getting

the youth educated and employed so as to earn a good

living and uplift the whole society out of poverty than

there is on other things of significant importance to the

personal development and growth of the youth. The youth

are therefore still lacking in other ‘softer’ aspects of their

personal growth and development such as sexual and

reproductive health issues, general platforms for open, free

communication and self-expression, development and

nurturing of creative skills and talents, assertiveness, among

others. Some initiatives exist or are coming up but they are

few and far between and many are still on a macro level;

they fail to address the young individual needs at a more

local level. For example some young people complain that

their parents are unable to discuss sex and reproductive

health issues with them hence they have to find other

ways of getting this information often through the media

which is not always sufficient, consistent or relevant to their

situations. Advertisements on HIV/AIDs prevention are

sometimes confusing and contradictory in the eyes of the

youth. There are those championing abstinence, others

promoting safe sex through use of condoms while on the

other hand there are various TV and Radio programs which

explicitly or by implication promote irresponsible sexual

behaviour. What should they follow? The life skills and

orientation programmes recently introduced in schools

are also yet to have the desired effectiveness and impact

in terms of the topics covered, the methods of delivery, and

the instructors who most youth are unable to relate to.

There are also those youth who because of early

parenthood and marriage are expected by society to

conduct themselves in a certain way and not conform to

youthful practices or indulge in youth activities. These

youth especially girls are therefore expected to grow up

very fast, rather than at their own pace; many feel burdened

by these expectations and are forced to miss out on ‘youth’

life.

Youth and Health

Young people today face many health-related

challenges. Some of the health problems youth face are

teenage pregnancies, abortion, STIs and HIV/AIDS, teenage

marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), lack of family

planning services, lack of reproductive health services

and education among others. Persistent behavioral risks,

poor basic sanitation, and new and emerging diseases are

contributing to a deadly mix that is changing the classic

picture of a healthy youth. Particularly, adolescents in the Sub-

Saharan region have low family planning utilization rates and

limited knowledge about RH and services, and they account

for a higher proportion of the region’s new HIV infections,

maternal mortality ratios, and unmet need for RH information

and services (Population Reference Bureau, 2000). These

circumstances can be attributed to a number of social, cultural,

economic, and gender-related factors, many of which are

avoidable problems. The youth population is burgeoning in

some countries, and in these areas and elsewhere adolescents

are confronting new situations and threats to their present

health, moving towards a future in which their health status is

likely to be compromised.

The needs of young people are not homogenous

or universal. Young people are mothers, students and sex

workers. They are injection drug users and prison inmates.

Young people have varying sexualities, lifestyles and

definitions of the family. Young people living with HIV are

studying, working, having sex and planning families. This

“The current youth in Zambiaare very passive and that also makes it

harder for adults to create space because we don’t demand and ask why are we left out in things like community development, so other people just think that the youth

have no business in such.” Key Informant, Lusaka, Zambia

“There are both positive andnegative perceptions but the negative

perceptions outshine the positive ones. Like they don’t think that youth need information, youth need to take care of themselves. They

just simply send them to school and that’s all. But they have specific needs that require much attention in order to produce a fruitful genera-tion. So people don’t think that they need to be treated properly, they think that sending them to school is enough, no other things.”



111

therefore calls for a need to design policies and programs

that are most relevant and effective at addressing their

varying needs.

Country by country summaries of youth

reproductive health statistics in the countries of study are

as follows:

Kenya

According to Kenya’s National Youth Policy

(2006), the youth face a myriad of health related

problems, including widespread malaria, malnutrition,

HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs),

drug and substance abuse as well as poor access to

health services. The HIV/AIDS pandemic, among other

diseases, has continued to negatively impact on the

health of the youth. More than 75% of people infected

with AIDS are aged 20 to 45 years. About 33% of all

AIDS cases reported are of those aged 15-30. According

to Kenya AIDS Indicators Survey 2007, women aged

15-24 years are 4 times more likely than their male

counterparts to be infected with HIV (6.1% compared

to 1.5%). A higher proportion of Kenyans aged 30-34

years are currently infected with HIV than in any other

age category. According to Kenya Demographic Health

Survey 2003, almost half of young women have sex by

the time they turn 18. And more than one in ten (13%)

have sex by the time they are 15. Young women start

having sex at an earlier age. Sixty% have sex by age

18, and a quarter has sex by age 15. However, these

statistics show that young people are waiting longer to

start having sex than they did five years ago.

Almost a quarter of young Kenyan women

(age 15-19) are either pregnant with their first child

or already mothers. Teenage motherhood has risen

in recent years (Figure 7). Among young women aged

20-24, 4% are married by age 15, while 25% do so by

age 18. Almost half are married by age 20. Men get

married at a later age than women; among men aged

20-24, less than 3% are married by age 18 and only 6%

are married by age 20. Most young women do not use

any method of contraception. Only 17 percent of 20-

24 year olds use a modern method of family planning.

Young married women are less likely to use a method

of contraception than their unmarried, sexually active

peers. Less than 2% of young women use male

condoms.

Figure 7: Adolescent births per 1000 women in Kenya

Ethiopia

Youth aged 10 to 24 comprise about 35 percent of

Ethiopia’s population (Population Reference Bureau, 2008).

Ensuring their health and future is vital to the nation. Ethiopia

has made progress in improving youth’s health. However, young

women still suffer high rates of maternal injury and death due

to childbirth without skilled assistance and unsafe abortion.

Persistent gender inequalities and traditional harmful practices,

including FGM and child marriage, contribute to these significant

health challenges.

In 2006, an Ethiopian Ministry of Health AIDS report

estimated that AIDS accounts for 34% of all the deaths of young

people aged 15-49 years. A community based verbal autopsy

conducted at the BRHP in 2000 attributed 8.5% of all deaths in

the highlands, 4.8% in the lowlands and 11.3% of all deaths in

the urban areas to AIDS (Lulu et al., 2005). There is however a

significant decline in HIV prevalence amongst youth under the

age of 20 years. In this group the HIV prevalence was estimated

at 13.7% in 2006 in comparison to 15.9% in 2005. HIV prevalence

in the 20-24 year age-group in 2006 (28%) had also decreased in

comparison to 2005 (30.6%). A decline in prevalence in the age

group 15–24 years is suggestive of a decline in the incidence

(new infections). These statistics suggest a sustained change

in behavior among young people including engaging in safer

sexual practices such as being in mutually faithful relationships

(UNGASS, 2007).

The health status of youth is similar to that of the rest of the

society. And it is described in relation to the country’s economic,

social and cultural situation. The health coverage, which was

30% in the past decade, has now reached 61%. It would however

be difficult to say that the youth health services coverage has

increased at the desired type, quantity and standard, as is the

(Source: World development indicators database 2009 athttp://go.worldbank.org/KGT2YR91F0)


case with rest of the population. In particular, the failure to

bring about attitudinal and behavioral changes in society

regarding personal hygiene and environmental sanitation

has remained to be a major challenge. The figure below

presents the adolescents births per 1000 women since 2000

to 2007.

Figure 8: Adolescent births per 1000 women in Ethiopia

Limited reproductive health services and information

and education dissemination services are being rendered

through governmental organizations and Non Government

Organizations (NGOs). It is however impossible to assume

that adequate services are being rendered. Moreover, the

services do not specifically focus on youth. Nor are they

easily accessible in terms of time and place.

Adolescents may also experience resistance or

even hostility and bad attitudes from adults when they

attempt to obtain the RH information and services they

need. They therefore may be at increased risk of sexually

transmitted infections (STIs), HIV, unintended pregnancy,

and other health consequences. For women aged 15 to

19, complications of pregnancy, childbirth, and unsafe

abortion are the major causes of death. Young people aged

15 to 24 have the highest rates of sexually transmitted

infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS.

South Africa

About ten percent (10.2%) of all young people aged

15-24 years are infected with HIV in South Africa. Although

there is significant use of condoms among the youth, there

is lack of consistency which exposes them to the risk of

HIV infection. Women have roughly 3 times the prevalence

of HIV compared to their male counterparts. Nearly 1 in 4

women aged 20-24 years in South Africa is infected with HIV

compared to roughly 1 in 14 males of the same age. Among

the 10% of South African youth who are HIV positive, 77% are

women (RHRU, 2009). Pregnancy is not uncommon among

sexually experienced young women with 33% of 15-19 year

old and 59% of 20- 24 year old sexually experienced women

reporting ever having been pregnant. However, the rate

seems to decrease since 2000 as shown in Figure 9 below:

Figure 9: Adolescents births per 1000 women in S. Africa

The youth have become more open about their

sexuality, and although contraceptive use is generally high

among teenagers, the use is inconsistent (RHRU, 2009).

Overall, the contraceptive prevalence was 60% in 2004 as

indicated below. The youth continue to be faced with lack

of information especially on matters such as pregnancy,

STDs, sexual intercourse and relationships.

Figure 10: Contraceptive use in South Africa

(Source: World development indicators database 2009 at http://go.worldbank.org/KGT2YR91F0)




113

Zambia

Most young people in Zambia have been affected

by the HIV pandemic. This is because a lot of young people

have lost bread winners as a result of HIV/AIDS while others

are infected. In 2002, 7.7% of young people aged 15-24

years were living with HIV. In 2005, there was decrease in

condom use among young people with females accounting

38% from 40% in 2003 while for the males it decreased

from 35% in 2003 to 26% in 2005. 43.5% of young men and

women aged 15-24 years could correctly identify ways of

preventing HIV and reject major misconceptions about the

transmission (Zambia UNGASS, 2005).

The figure below shows that youth aged 15-19 years

are becoming mothers at a higher rate. Although the rate

has been coming down since 2000, the rates are still high.

Figure 11: Adolescent births per 1000 women in Zambia

Senegal

Senegal is often regarded as a model in HIV prevention.

Experts claim that HIV prevalence remains under 1% in

adults partially due to the country’s early legalization of sex

work, advocacy on HIV prevention from religious leaders

and universal male circumcision. However, concentrated

rates of infection amongst marginalized populations such as

sex workers (30% prevalence), women (1.7%), and men who

have sex with men (MSM) (21.5%) continue to rise. Many of

these people are Senegal’s youth. 55.6% of Senegal’s total

population is under the age of 20 (Senegal UNGASS, 2008)

Accurate knowledge of HIV transmission is very low

among Senegalese young people, at 22.7%, far from the

UNGASS target of 90% by 2005 and 95% by 2010. This is

largely due to the extremely low rates of secondary school

attendance by young people, primarily due to unaffordable

school fees. In Senegal, young people are still barely visible

in programming and policy making, either as beneficiaries

of services, or as active contributors. In addition, strides

to promote safe sex among sex workers have failed to

recognize the prevalence of illegal underage sex workers,

whose covert lifestyles bar them from accessing sexual and

reproductive health services and information. Moreover,

condom promotion in Senegal does not take into account

the socioeconomic and cultural reality of gender inequality.

In the 2005 Senegal DHS, only about 5% of young women

between the ages of 15 to 24 indicated that they used a

condom with a regular partner, compared to approximately

50% of young men in the same age group.

Young people in Senegal have a mixed level of

understanding of HIV transmission. Data show that 88%

of the young people understand that being faithful to

one partner who is HIV negative can reduce the risk of HIV

transmission, and 71.1% of them think that the condoms

are an appropriate alternative. Statistics shows that young

people ages 15-19 are less likely to use a condom than 20-

24 year olds. However, there are still false beliefs among

young people. Indeed, 62.8% of young people believe

that mosquito bites can transmit the HIV virus. Out of all

Senegalese, young men (41.7%) and young women (37.4%)

are most likely to have misinformation about HIV. 4% of

Senegalese youth believe that witchcraft or supernatural

means are the root cause of HIV infection. The HIV testing

rates are low since 0.7% of Senegalese 15-19 year old have

undergone an HIV test while 0.8% of 20-24 year olds, and

1.4% of 25- 49 year olds have gone for a test. 80% of those

tested received their results (UNGASS, 2008).


“Yes they have adequate access but there areissues of youth friendliness…There is this aspect

of service providers. For instance if a young person walks into a health facility suspecting they have

an STI they want to be screened, you know the first thing the nurse will say to them is ‘you are naughty, why do you want to be treated? So you have been

having sex?’ So you see just that judgementalattitude from the service providers makes the

young people to shun the health facilities.Others think that traditional healers are better at the service because they know they will not be

judged there. So I think that is the onlymajor issue that the country needs to address.”



Nigeria

With a rate of 112 births per 1,000 females aged 15

to 19 in 2009, Nigerian adolescents have one of the highest

levels of fertility in the world. About 12 per cent of teenagers

have their first baby before the age of 15 and almost half

become mothers before they reach 20. The total fertility

rate is 5.8 with only 8 per cent of married women aged

15–49 practicing family planning (Population Reference

Bureau, 2009). 19 per cent of all girls have been subjected

to female genital mutilation while the population living

with HIV/AIDS (aged 15–49) is 3.9 per cent (UNDP Human

Development Report 2007/2008)

Between 43% and 53% of youths are sexually active,

most lacking adequate information and services to promote

and protect their reproductive health. There is also the rapid

rate of increase of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV

and AIDS. Youths are the most vulnerable to infection and

to inadequate care and treatment. Although the number of

births per 1000 women among the adolescents has been

decreasing, the numbers are still high. Figure 12 below

presents this:

Figure 12: Adolescents births per 1000 women in Nigeria

Table 16: Health statistics of Senegal

Total Population 12,400,000

Population of young people (10-24yrs) 4.1 million

Prevalence of HIV (15-24yrs) 0.7% male, 0.9% female

Prevalence of HIV (15-49yrs) 0.7%

Physicians per 100,000 people 6

(Source: Population Reference Bureau, 2007)

“The health structure is too expensivein Senegal. Those in the formal sector are deducted some amount of money in case they fall sick they can go to hospital but

these are very few. There are only 20% of the Senegalese population so what about

the rest who have to take care ofthemselves having in mind that they

have no monthly salary?”


“People talk too much of AIDS, diabetesand other diseases. But the disease

that kills the majority of Sengalese peopleis Malaria. That is how it is in Senegal.When the child’s body feels excessivelywarm or hot parents say it is because of

our normal hot climate. So they delay and will find out when the malaria is in advancedstages. This is when they rush the child

to the hospital. Because of that we find thatthey reach there when the child is very tired

and most of the time the child dies”


“Media is doing quite well whenit comes to adverts on AIDS.

The government is trying but they are not doing enough because the drugs and condoms should be available and cheap. I don’t think it is that cheap.”

Key Informant, Lagos Nigeria

(Source: World development indicators database 2009

at http://go.worldbank.org/KGT2YR91F0)


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Background

The Mobile Clinic is an outreach activity held by

the Likoni Youth Community Centre (LYCC) which is a

program that runs under the LICODEP (Likoni Community

Development Programme). LICODEP began as an umbrella

organization of youth groups in Likoni with the objective

of reducing poverty and enhancing access to basic human

needs and respect for human rights envisioning “a poverty

free society enjoying basic human rights”

LYCC is supported by USAID under the Aphia II Coast

Program. Their mission is to increase the access of sexual

reproductive health information and VCT services to the

youth.

Services Offered

LYCC is led by a vibrant team of young, qualified

volunteers and staff capable of conducting youth-friendly

strategies to optimally serve the youth. It enjoys the support of

development partners, the local administration and the entire

Likoni community. LYCC offers peer counseling, provides free

library services, VCT services, community and magnet theatre

drama outreach, youth festivals, recreational activities and

picnics. It also offers psycho-social support and care for HIV

positive youth to teach them how to live comfortably and as a

way of fighting stigma and discrimination in the community.

As a matter of principle, LYCC advocates

for abstinence from sex and encourages positive

(responsible) behaviour change amongst the youth as

a way of addressing HIV/AIDS and drug abuse. These

innovative approaches have restored confidence and

encouraged the youth to go for voluntary testing and

interact with others regardless of tribal and socio-

econimic differences.

The Mobile Clinic (Tuyazungumze)

LYCC has since inception had a positive impact

on young adults through “TUYAZUNGUMZE” (a Swahili

word for let’s talk about it) which is a mobilization

campaign targeting unemployed youth or school

droupouts. Its main objective is to empower the youth

with sufficient information on sexual/reproductive

health, life skills, guidance and counseling so as to

transform them into responsible global citizens.

Mobile Clinic is ‘magnet theatre’ conducted

regularly in Kisauni and Likoni areas so to sensitize

and reach out to the youth (10-25yrs) and the general

community on health issues. This is an interactive

drama where audience is invited to participate and

add to the dialogue. The goal is to encourage people

to participate in voluntary testing of HIV and/or bring

their children for malaria vaccination. The vaccines are

Volunteers finish setting up one of the mobile clinic tents for free VCT services

Reaching out to the Youth with Mobile Clinic Heath Services through the Arts in Kisauni, Kenya


offered at a heavily subsidized price. It seems therefore that

indeed Malaria, HIV and drug abuse are the major health

challenges facing the youth in the area as shared by Key

Informants and youth respondents interviewed in the

study.

We meet with part of the team (in a UN van) at the

Likoni ferry at around 2:30 pm. There is a regional office

near there where the youth volunteers are waiting for the

van. They one by one come carrying the equipment for

the day which includes speakers, tents, a PA system, music,

medical supplies and gifts. Each of them seems to know

their role and they work as a team. The youth volunteers

male and female are 18-25 years old. They are paid an

allowance for these outreache exercises and this helps

them to meet their needs. Kate who is the secretary of one

of the youth CBOs and also a youth representative in the

community aids committee tells us that she has studied

business management but meanwhile volunteers, hoping

to build her CV in the process. By their dressing they seem

to belong to the ‘Chanukaad’ group since although the

area residents are wearing lessos over their dresses, the girl

volunteers are mostly dressed in jeans and t-shirts. One girl

is even wearing her jeans with a hijab. As soon as everything

is in the van all the volunteers get in and we drive to the

venue. By 3:00pm we are at Kisauni. The houses in the area

are middle to low income some constructed with cement

blocks while others from mud and stone. The selected site

is in the middle of a small junction where several paths

meet. As soon as we get there each of the youth volunteers

get into their role. As some of them fix tents others work

on the PA system, some put up the banners as the nurses

(who are hired for the day) get their medical facility ready.

Only little children quickly run to the place immediately

we arrive but soon older people stream in one by one,

especially when the music is turned on and the MCs

start to make announcements. The event officially kicks

off at around 3.30 pm in the heart of Kisauni area with

2 MCs, DJs and other staff from the LICODEP program.

The show if done in the morning is scheduled for around

9:00 am because by 11:30 am the women will have to

go home to cook. In the afternoon the show is at 3:00

pm and ends by 5:30 pm for the same reason. There is

a group of young men who are playing a game of chess

around a bench nearby. For a while they seem unmoved

by the hullabaloo but as the activities get intense they

too start participating. There are also young men who

are busy hawking merchandise on wheelbarrows in the

neighborhood. The girls and women appear to be more

than the men in the crowd although the girls (probably

in their teenage to 20s) try to hide themselves in the

crowd as much as possible while still trying to get the jist

of the event. The MCs keep talking about the main goal

of the event which is to provide medical services. Every

so often they remind the crowd about the medical tents

and try to convince the people to visit them. The youth

volunteers have various talents in arts and drama and are

acquiring skills in community mobilization. They worked

as a team, some emceeing, others going out along the

paths distributing pamphlets and others manning the

tents. There are two tents for those who require medical

assistance. One is for those who wish to be tested for HIV

while the other is for dispensing dewormer medication

at KES 20 (EUR 0.2). The VCT is free. Other consultation

charges are KES 100 (EUR 1) for adults and KES 50 (EUR

0.5) for children. Towards the end of the event the

consultation costs are lowered, perhaps to encourage

more people to take advantage of the medical services

before closing.

Mobile Health Clinic: Truly well-rehearsed and synchronized; not a step or a beat out of place.

Mobile Health Clinic: Children from the neighbourhood crowd around to watch the action


117

and medical care can do so discreetly. This works quite well

because although the exact numbers of turnout are not

yet released by close of day, we are told that overall a good

number of people have made use of the VCT services. There

is even an incident of one teenager (who had earlier been in

the crowd) taking a test and another girl tries to peep into

the tent but is told off by the nurse. Past statistics of those

who made use of the medical facilities are however availed

and they are as follows:

Likoni outreach:

No. of Clients Attended = 28 (Male 13, Female 15)

No. of Youth 10-24yrs = 18 (Male 8, Female 10)

Kisauni outreach:

No. of Clients Attended = 14 (Male 6, Female 8)

No. of youth 10-24yrs = 9 (Male 4, Female 5)

VCT Clients Tested (19-29yrs) = 21 (Male 6, Female 15)

No. tested Positive = 1 (Male 1, Female 0)

Tuyazungumze emerges as a launching pad for young

aspiring artists (wasanii) who use every available opportunity

to showcase their talent, ready to be criticized or cheered by a

free audience. The crowds are on the whole fairly controlled

and civil. In typical Coastal hospitality, the hosts offer us

front row (VIP) seating which the crowds respect. Pushing

and shoving is minimal and children sit in one area. There are

no incidents of theft, pickpocketing, bullying or hooliganism

typically experienced in similar events in Nairobi. Overall,

this drive is quite an effective and creative way of assembling

the youth, communicating and tackling pertinent social and

health issues affecting them. It also turns out to be a forum

for youth expression.

The DJ and MCs run the show with dancing

competitions, talent search, dance routines as well as

performances from the crowds. The competitions range

from chakacha (Swahili dance), to bongo (Tanzanian

music genre) and hiphop perfomances among others.

The crowds throng by the hour with approximately 200-

300 people in attendance of mixed ages and gender.

Throughout majority of the audience is female. This

is probably because most of them are idle – many are

housewives or altogether unemployed. Many of them

are also accompanied by children, an indication of the

high rate of early marriage, motherhood or teenage

pregnancies at the Coast.

The show nurtures local young talent as evidenced

by the dance competition and displays. The audience

determines who wins (a soda). There are separate

competitions for the boys and girls. One can tell that

the girls are quite shy as it takes a lot of convincing and

pushing for them to go up and dance. The women are

called upon to display their dance and chakacha talent

but they seem content to just watch by the side lines.

One young woman keeps coming on to the arena and

shying off due to the boos by the multitude. Clearly she

wants to dance but something is holding her back. The

younger girls have no such inhibitions however. The

younger the girls therefore, the less shy they are and

the more accepted they are by the audience as dancers.

At some point the woman who wants to dance joins a

group of younger girls in the competition and the boys/

men seated behind us take serious offence. “Anajipa

huyu” they say, meaning the young woman is throwing

herself at the men. They keep shouting at her to leave

the dance floor. They seemingly interpret her behavior

as that of a loose woman. This is because culturally,

Swahili/Islam’s partriarchal tendencies condemn

females and therefore restrict them from public self-

expression. In stark contrast, her female counterparts

cheer her on with admiration as they long to do the

same but are not brave enough. Eventually she is forced

to shyly run away from the dance floor.

When invited to participate, the boys are more

outgoing than the girls. The boys have their own CD

and they every so often tell the DJ which track they

want played. The idea behind all the entertainment

is to keep the crowd occupied so that whoever wants

to secretly sneak into one of the tents for HIV testing

Mobile Health Clinic: Magnetic theatre at its best


119


Chapter Five | Media and Communication

ICTs include a range of technologies and facilitate

communication, processing and transmission of

information by electronic means. Both traditional

ICTs, such as conventional radio, landline telephones,

newspapers, TV and libraries, and modern or new,

ICTs such as mobile phones, computers, internet and

fax, have defined the youth life of today where they

continue to access variety of information. As ICTs

are by definition a means of communication and

information sourcing and manipulation, it is important

to include traditional information source institutions,

such as libraries and post offices, in areas where the

general level of access to ICT is still growing. Libraries

are often well placed and accessible for members of

the community, forming logical deployment points for

ICT facilities.

The use of information and communication

technologies (ICT) is skyrocketing. Notwithstanding

the immense diversity in living environments, an

unprecedented and unifying global media culture

has developed that challenges and often surpasses such

traditional forms of socialization as family and school. This

complex cultural situation has been called the informational

age, while others prefer the term techno-culture or techno-

capitalism, global media culture, or simply globalization. The

idea behind all these terms is that across the globe, ICTs are

playing a central role in young people’s lives and in society

at large (Beck, 2002). The assumptions that underlie the role

of ICT is that one, the proliferation of these technologies is

causing rapid transformations in all areas of life and two, ICT

function to unify and standardize culture. It is on the basis of

these assumptions that the term “media culture”, incorporating

the phenomena of globalization came into play.

In the world of young people, the media are saturated

by popular culture and penetrate politics, the economy, leisure

time and education. Media culture is pervasive; its messages

are an important part of the everyday lives of young people,

and their daily activities are structured around media use.

The stories and images in the media become important tools

for identity construction (Willis, 2000). A pop star provides a

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121

model for clothing and other style choices, and language

used by a cartoon character becomes a key factor in the

street credibility of young people. Under the present

circumstances, there are few places left in the world where

one might escape the messages and meanings embedded

in the televised media culture. The emergence of digitalized

communication and the commoditization of culture have

significantly altered the conditions under which life and

culture are experienced. Although conversing with one

another through face-to-face is still a favorite of many

especially those who live in a close-knit local environment,

digital communication is gradually undermining this

traditional approach. Mobile phones, TV, radio, film,

magazines, music, commercial dance, style, fashion, and

commercial leisure venues are the major realignments.

World media landscape for children and youth

immediately presents two opposing themes: opportunities

and risks. For example, globalization of media brings

opportunities to broaden children’s outlooks and provide

more equal access to information, but it also threatens

cultural identification and values. Technological advances

bring the promise of new skills and greater youth

participation in society, but also increase the risk of child

exploitation and informational divides.

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones introduce a range of new possibilities

for social networking and communication, media use and

production, political activism, as well as education. Young

people in South Africa have adopted a range of innovative

communicative practices, notably those which exploit

low-cost mobile applications, as well as a growing host

of rich-media and Internet-based applications. Mobile

phones have long surpassed traditional landlines as the

most common voice communication technology. This

is particularly due to the marked growth in new mobile

phone users in most developing countries (Feldmann,

2003). In South Africa, a country still trying to escape its

legacy of dramatic racial inequalities, mobiles have enjoyed

spectacular growth over the past decade, with more than

60% of all South Africans above the age of 16 already

owning a phone themselves (RIA, 2009). Mobile phones

provide access to personal communication to millions who

were previously marginalized especially in the rural areas.

The high usage patterns and expenditures on

conventional telephony are particularly surprising

given the low income levels that prevail in these areas.

Interpersonal communication is the most common use of

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phones, with most people making calls or sending SMS

messages on a typical day. Despite the near-universal use

of cell phones a significant minority do not own personal

handset. However, there is no significant difference in

phone usage patterns among this group who borrow

other peoples’ phones to communicate. The youth can

now access the Internet via their phones. The popularity

of Web access, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter and

other web applications indicate the changes of traditional

media among the youth. In 2008 Kenya had more than

15.0 million mobile subscribers, with a mobile penetration

rate of 39%. The subscriber base is expected to rise to

29.28 million, or 66.7% penetration, by year-end 2013 (ICT

Newslog, 2009).

Mobile phone ownership and access

Majority of youth interviewed either had their own

mobile phone or access to one that belongs to a family

member such as parents, older siblings or other relatives

that they live with. In both rural and urban areas of study

almost all the youth in the older age sets owned a mobile

phone i.e. 18-21 and 22-25. Some of the younger ones in

some countries also had their own phones especially where

mobile phones are permitted in schools e.g. Senegal, South

Africa and Ethiopia. In Kenya mobile phones are strictly

prohibited in majority of schools hence even those who

own them can only use them outside of school. There

were also a few youth in Kwale, Kenya who were married

and were sharing a mobile phone with their spouses; more

often than not the husband would have the phone during

the day and the wives would access in the evening when

the husbands get home from work.

Youth acquire their phones in different ways.

Some are purchased for them as gifts from their parents.

Sometimes when older siblings or parents decide to

upgrade i.e. buy a new / better mobile phone the youth

also benefit as the older phones tend to be handed down

to them. Other youth on the other hand especially the

older ones 18-21 and 22-25, save over time or purposely do

some business or casual work so as to get enough money

to buy a mobile phone. Those who have regular forms

of employment are also able to afford their own mobile

phones. Generally owning a mobile phone is considered

to be quite important amongst the youth hence regardless

of socio-economic status, they all desire and strive to own

one. Owning a mobile phone means that they are able to

be constantly in touch with their social networks and are

simply able to ‘fit in’.

Most youth especially low to mid income youth

tend to own low end phones with limited features mainly

because they cannot afford to buy the more expensive

phones with more capabilities. A good number of youth

who own ‘high end’ phones admit that they are not genuine

hence why they were able to afford them. A few youth

said that they simply prefer to buy a cheap phone because

phone loss and theft is very common hence no point in

investing in a high end phone. It is close to impossible

to recover a lost mobile phone; there are limited tracking

possibilities hence the most one can do is to block the

phone using the IMEI so as to render it useless to whoever

has stolen it. Overall most youth who participated in the

study had Nokia handsets and expressed preference for the

same due to durability, simplicity and / or ease of use.

Mobile phone usage

In order to understand phone usage amongst the

youth, the respondents were asked to fill in a questionnaire

on the different features they have on their phones, which

ones they use or do not use, how often, which ones

they hardly use but would still like to keep and reasons

thereof, and features they would like to have in future.

Also incorporated were questions on unique or creative

ways that they have devised of using their phones as

well as anything they would particularly like to be able to

personalize on their phones. The following features were

discussed:

“Like there was this time that I wouldgo out with my friends and there is no

money, the clothes are almost worn out and I have no phone. So when you go out you

feel like the friends are looking down on you. As life went on, things got better

and I even saw their approach changed. The respect was back and they even

informed me everyday on the updates but when I had no phone I just had to look for

them wherever they would be.”

Male 22-25, Lusaka Zambia


123

| Some say it is cheaper than voice calls

Other suggestions:

| See the person sending you the SMS

| Receive 3D messages

Some do not use it due to literacy challenges and

language (Amharic alphabet)

| Also limited use for those sharing phones or

borrowing from family member

Many youth have resorted to acquiring various SIM

cards from various operators so as to benefit from lower

tarrifs within certain networks and during certain times

of day. As such many youth desire to own mobile phones

with multi-SIM capabilities to avoid the hassle of changing

sims every time the need arises or having to acquire extra

handsets.

Internet:

Limited access – many young people’s phones do not

have the capability

| Many however desire to have this feature and use

it – get news and information from around the

world, and can send and receive mail.

Those with enabled phones (mainly urban for most

countries) use it daily or several times a day

| Mainly social usage – facebook and other social

networking sites and applications e.g. Mxit (very

popular in SA and recently launched in Kenya),

twitter,

| Young people spend a significant amount of time

on the internet – some can go to extremes of all

day (in cases where they are on school holidays)

or all night and forfeit their sleep.

| Also for content – downloading music and

ringtones. Some also for movies and video clips.

| Many prefer mobile internet as opposed to PC

internet – more accessible and convenient, not

as conscious about the cost as perhaps at a cyber

cafe or home internet solutions.

Voice Calls:

All have access

Many use it daily or several times a day

| Some say it is cheaper than SMS due to recently

reduced call charges; especially for very short

messages

| Main option for some due to language constraint

that is not enabling for SMS (Ethiopia – Amharic

alphabet)

Some use it less often due to cost and general

preference for SMS

| Some increased usage at night due to lower tariffs

| More use related to ‘important’ or more formal

calls as opposed to social calls

| Have devised creative ways of saving on credit

e.g. a tailor made morse code of sorts through

‘flashing’ or beeping

| Limited use for those sharing phones or

borrowing from family member

SMS:

All have access

Many use it daily or several times a day

| Very popular amongst youth especially amongst

their peers and social circles

| Have devised their own text messaging language

– helps save credit by cutting down on number

of characters e.g. Tuonane (Kiswahili for See you

later) would be written as 2O8 i.e. 2 (Tu) O (o) 8

(nane); 8 is nane in Kiswahili, Great would be GR8,

and G9T is goodnight. Other than saving on

credit it is also quite cool to use this language and

it enables faster texting.

“My friends and I have devised a way of communicating

without necessarily using our credit. If I get to campus I flash her once and then if she is there she will flash me back twice that way I know that she is also on campus and I seek her out…”

Female, Youth Insights Pre-Study, Kenya

“I would like to receive my text messages in 3D format”

18-21 Thies, Senegal


| Some also desire mobile WiFi connections in

future – enjoy ‘free’ access where possible; some

operator connections are sometimes poor

| Those using family members’ phones are limited

to what they can use – usually limited to quick

voice calls and SMS to save on credit and time

spent with the phone. This also limits possibility

of learning how to use it.

Radio:

Most have access

| Many of those who don’t have the feature desire

to have it in future

Most listen daily or for long durations at particular

times of the day

| Commuting, doing chores, relaxing after school

or work, during breaks at school or work, or

throughout the night (even when asleep)

| Mainly for music, though some also listen to

news and shows with interactive discussions on

relationships integrated with music

| Some youth have attempted to participate in

interactive radio but are often disappointed since

the lines are too busy hence never get through;

SMS is an option though not guaranteed that the

radio host will acknowledge it and read it.

| Some prefer mobile radio to home radio sets as

this accords them a level of privacy and ability to

exercise choice of what they want to listen to and

when.

Audio recorder:

Few have this feature

Some desired to have it in future though it would most

likely be a feature that they thought they would use

less often

| For recording sounds and music

| For recording certain conversations that they

want to save and listen to in future

| To record certain situations for security reasons or

evidence

| To record languages of interest and playback so

as to learn

Video recorder:

Few have this feature

| Most use it occassionaly for special moments

A few desire to have it in future

| Handy for recording or capturing special

moments

| To record classes and lectures

| To record certain situations for security reasons or

evidence

Others seemed neutral or altogether felt that it is not

necessary for them at the moment

Camera:

Significant number have the feature and a significant

other do not

Those who have cameras claim to use them quite

often – daily or weekly

| Capture images of anything or anyone that

strikes them as that which they would like to save

and remember

Many desire to have the camera feature in future

Other suggestions – ability to personalize your photos

once taken e.g. like photoshop

Games:

Most have a few basic games on their phones

| Some claim not to have a single game on their

phones

| Some want better games with better graphics;

the ones they have are said to be boring

“I use my video recorder less often because of limited memory space on my phone”

Female 18-21 Nairobi, Kenya

“I would want a video recorder torecord all my modeling events in future”

Female 18-21 Lusaka Zambia


125

With the exception of Ethiopia majority of youth in the

other countries are not enthusiastic about games on

their phones hence play them less often

| Don’t have time for games or simply not

interested

| Considered to be rather juvenile

TV:

None currently have TV on their phones

Majority greatly desire to have this feature in future

| Easy and convenient access to favourite

programs and shows at whatever time and place

– commuting, long distance traveling,

| Mobile TV as compared to home TV sets would

enable a level of privacy and ability to exercise

choice of what they want to watch and when

| For when there is no electricity as power outages

are quite a big problem in many African countries

Media player:

Few have this on their phones

Many desire to have this in future

| As an alternative to radio – play select music

| Other suggestions – one that can play music in

any format

Bluetooth:

Many do not have this feature

Some desire to have it in future

| Mainly for transferring and sharing music files

and video clips

| Some creative usage – writing notes and sharing

them via BT as opposed to SMS

| A few also mentioned Infrared for the same

reasons

Voicemail:

All have access

Majority do not use it

| Some think it is unneccessary and would be

happy to do without it in future

| Some have difficulty in retrieving messages –

long process

Memory card:

Few have this on their phones

Many desire to have it in future

| Increased storage for music, videos and other

content

Video calls:

None have access currently

Some desire to have this in future:

| Ability to see who is calling and where they are

| Others also wish for video conferencing so as to

have visible mobile conversations with groups of

people

Drawing and graphics applications:

None have such features currently

A few desire this for future phones

| Nurturing their drawing talents

Security lock:

Few are aware of this feature in most of the countries

Significant mention in Senegal – desire to have this

feature

| To increase privacy of data and content on their

mobile phones

| Other suggestion – ability to lock specific aspects

such as gallery and SMS that one wants to keep

completely private.

“I don’t like them… They bore me!”

Female 14-17 Limpopo South Africa


There are various initiatives by African governments and

other development partners trying to address ICT access and certain

infrastructural challenges. For example in South Africa there are

multi-purpose community centres (MPCC), telecentres, cyber labs,

personal information terminals (PITs), department of communication

web internet laboratories (DoCWILs), citizens’ post offices and public

digital libraries all of which are quite useful in providing the youth

with access and necessary skills and experience of ICT usage since

they serve as access points for the community on a part-time and/

or full-time basis. In Senegal the government has also encouraged

the establishment of community telecentres or tele boutiques that

provide public telephones, fax services, computers and internet

access since individual access can be quite costly. There are also some

initiatives underway in the other countries of study as well as plans

supported by ICT policies which are now in place though the current

situation is still dire.

Internet access and usage

The table below reveals that internet penetration in Africa is

poor (6.8%). However, South Africa is at 9.4% followed by Kenya (8.6%)

with Nigeria and Senegal accounting for 7.4%. Nigeria accounts for

16.3% of total users in Africa.

Table 17: Internet usage in Africa

Computers

Ownership and access

There is generally limited ownership

of computers amongst the young people

interviewed both rural and urban. Cost is still

quite prohibitive hence majority of those who

use computers (mainly urban youth) often access

them at cyber cafes, educational institutions

or work places. For instance in Lusaka Zambia

second hand laptops go for about EUR 240 while

new ones can cost up to EUR 560 which is too

expensive for majority of the youth. In addition

original software purchases and updates are

quite expensive hence even those who own

computers copy from their friends.

As discussed earlier under the education

section, access to computers is quite limited

– most public schools and educational

institutions as a whole have limited number of

computers that cannot satisfy the entire student

populations. As such, many students graduate

from the various schools without having the

benefit of IT literacy. It is largely a learn-by-self

system for majority of the youth who have used

computers through cyber cafes or the few who

have access from a family member or neighbour.

The desire to learn and use computers is

however very strong amongst the youth; they

are eager to utilize any possible opportunities

for this. Many are aware that ICT literacy is very

relevant for them as young people in what is

commonly referred to as a technological age.

They need to acquire the necessary skills which

they can utilize to satisfy certain educational

needs and requirements, for livelihoods and for

purposes of keeping abreast with information

on a global level and social exchange. Some of

the uses specifically mentioned by the youth

for computers were: playing music, watching

movies, sending and receiving e-mail, accessing

social networking sites such as facebook, typing

school assignments and term papers, research

for educational purposes or personal interests,

playing games, downloading music and other

content of interest.

“I have a problem with the chat rooms. I think we chat a lot. I log in only once a week. As the youth we tend to forget that there are other things that we need to be doing with our time that are a lot more important than

spending hours in the chat rooms everyday.”


Countries Population (2009 Est.)

Internet Users

Dec/2000

Internet UsersLatest Data (June 2009)

Penetration(% Population)

User Growth(2000-2009)

% Usersin Africa

Ethiopia 85,237,338 10,000 360,000 0.4 % 3,500.0 % 0.5 %

Kenya 39,002,772 200,000 3,359,600 8.6 % 1,579.8 % 5.0 %

Nigeria 149,229,090 200,000 11,000,000 7.4 % 5,400.0 % 16.3 %

Senegal 13,711,597 40,000 1,020,000 7.4 % 2,450.0 % 1.5 %

S. Africa 49,052,489 2,400,000 4,590,000 9.4 % 91.3 % 6.8 %

Zambia 11,862,740 20,000 700,000 5.9 % 3,400.0 % 1.0 %

TOTAL AFRICA 991,002,342 4,514,400 67,371,700 6.8 % 1,392.4 % 100.0 %

(Source: www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm)


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In 2006, 3.65 million people in South Africa had access

to the internet in comparison to year 2003, which recorded

13.6% of households who could access computers and on

average only 9.1% of all households had access to the internet.

The price of PCs remains a barrier to private access to this type

of ICT for the majority of the population and affordability is

the main issue for those who are still not connected to the

internet.

Most of the young people interviewed who had access

to internet were able to gain access through cybercafés which

charge from as low as EUR 0.3 to 0.6 per hour in Kenya, EUR 0.8

per hour in Nigeria, EUR 4.8 per hour in Zambia, EUR 0.4 to 1.1

per hour in Ethiopia, and EUR 1.5 to 2 per hour in Senegal. A

few university students who have their own laptops were also

able to access free limitless internet within their campuses

through wireless connections. This is often however catered

for within the tuition fee to enable the universities offer it as

such. A few youth who were formally employed also gained

free access to the internet at work. With the exception of

Senegal, many rural youth in the other countries had never

used the internet but had a fairly good idea of what they

might be able to do with it based on what they had heard from

others. They knew that they would be able to get information

from different places in the world and be able to communicate

with other people in far off places through some kind of mail.

In some places there is also belief that the internet is the

preserve of the highly educated hence this holds back some

youth from taking up the opportunity; nonetheless access is

quite limited hence even opportunities for use are quite few.

Some young girls in Zambia (14-17) were however skeptical

about the internet and strongly believed that its usage would

bring about a lot of social ills such as pornography. Similarly

in Ethiopia some youth are not allowed to use the internet

on their own; even for educational purposes, it must be done

under parental supervision. This was also the case amongst

some girls (14-17) in Senegal.

Most youth did not have any information that they

sought on the internet and were unable to find.

Overall, many youth preferred mobile internet to PC

internet due to convenience, speed and ease of access and in

some instances cost. Many said that they would only resort

to PC use when they have to download large files or print

documents. For music and radio, mobile phones were also

preferred due to portability. The main concern for some was

having to use ear phones to listen to radio and wished to be

able to play it out loud using the speakers especially since

they may sometimes want to listen with their friends as a

social activity.

Mass Media

Arguably, the proliferation and globalization of

media are among the key factors that have shaped and

defined the current generation of young people. In

many countries, youth have access to a greater number

of multi-media choices than ever before for example,

conventional, satellite and cable TV channels; radio

stations; newspapers and magazines; the internet and

computer and video games. In addition, many are

exposed to the same programs, the same characters

and the same marketed spin-off products. Today there is

greater availability of foreign programming and media,

and less official censorship and control in many parts of

the world. Information, email and images flow around

the world faster and more freely than ever. Indeed, mass

media are making the world smaller, and culture and

media are increasingly inextricable, especially for young

people.

The main broadcasting ICT media utilized in

most African countries are television and radio. In South

Africa there are now over 3000 radio stations, with

over 100 community radio stations, broadcasting in

many different languages. Their scope and reach varies

enormously - from the half-a-million Joburgers who make

up the audience of Jozi FM to, for example, the mere one

thousand people who listen to Ilitha Community Radio in

the Eastern Cape town of Maclear. Community radio is a

crucial part of the South African broadcasting landscape,

providing diversity for listeners and much-needed skills

for the commercial radio sector. In Kenya, there are youth

community radio stations for the youth. These stations are

started and run by youth for the youth. Good examples

are Koch FM which targets youth in slums and Pamoja

FM in Kibera which was one of the sites for a workplace

immersion during fieldwork.

TV viewership

Watching TV is a favourite pastime for many youth.

Most watch TV daily at home in the evenings after school

especially those who are day scholars. Other youth

especially in the rural areas and low income informal

settlements who do not have TV sets at home usually

access TV at pay to view halls for specific programmes

and movies that have large following. Youth in boarding


schools also have less opportunity to watch TV, they

are most likely to view on weekends if the school policy

allows. Overall there is more time spent watching TV over

the weekends and during school holidays. Most youth

enjoy watching TV with friends and family though they

sometimes also do it solo depending on the time and

situation.

Some of the popular programmes that youth watch

on TV are music shows, sports, soap operas and movies.

Some youth especially the older ones (22-25) also actively

seek information through news broadcasts. Most youth

tend to watch a higher proportion of western programmes

(American, British, South American) as compared to

African and local content though appreciation for the

latter is also growing at a considerable rate for example

Nollywood productions. In South Africa the youth actually

seem to prefer more of local productions (South African)

as compared to others. In some countries interactive TV

is in place and viewers have the opportunity to call in or

send text messages with requests, questions or comments

and get some kind of feedback; there are some programs

specifically targeting the youth which have interactive

aspects. There is however hardly any mention by the youth

respondents about having ever participated in interactive

TV.

As much as the youth enjoy watching TV, there is a

growing preference for DVDs i.e. movies and TV programs

especially the series kind. There is increased availability

of these (mostly pirated) hence youth prefer to watch on

DVD also because they can exercise more choice and do

not have to wait to watch their favourite series week after

week.

Radio listenershipAs discussed earlier under mobile phone features,

majority of youth listen to radio. The variety of radio

stations is large and ever growing and many can access

radio at whatever time of day through their mobile phones.

Radio is also listened to at home with friends and family.

Print

Newspaper readership is somewhat low amongst

youth in rural Kenya, Zambia, Senegal, and Ethiopia. The

main problem is limited distribution in rural areas, low

literacy rates and affordability. In urban areas though, there

is more readership some places much higher than others

e.g. in Nigeria where there is a wide variety of newspapers

available. In Kenya and Zambia there are specific pullouts

available in the newspapers on certain days of the week

which are quite attractive to the youth hence readership

is much higher on these days. Most youth however do not

buy the papers for themselves; they often access a family

copy if any or at school, work place or other social place

such as hairsalon or local shop.

With the exception of South Africa, Nigeria and

Ethiopia, most youth in the other countries rarely read

magazines. Magazines and topics of interest are mostly

entertainment, sports, fashion, horoscopes, and some

politics. Magazines are actually more popular than

newspapers because of the content which also tends to

retain relevance longer than the information in newspapers

and some newspapers e.g. in Senegal are mostly tabloids

that many youth find too sensational and focus too much

on scandal. The deterrent to increased readership of

magazines is mainly access – most youth cannot afford to

buy their own magazines; they often settle for older copies

wherever they can access them. In some countries local

content and local magazines are limited yet the youth are

eager for information and stories that are relevant to them.

Social Networks

Social media tools like wikis, weblogs, Facebook,

Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, and “mashups” are increasingly

being used to organize and share information among the

youth. The youths have become very active playing the

roles of “citizen journalists,” reporting the on goings of

where they live and express their thoughts online. Social

media provides an opportunity for citizen participation in

any discussion online. Most Kenyans do not have access to

social media (Makinen and Kuira, 2008). This is because only

3.2% of the population has Internet access, and cyber cafés

are available mainly in urban areas. The world of citizens’

media is familiar to the educated and wealthy population

in the same way as in other societies. Therefore, a majority

have limited possibilities for participating in Web-based

discussions. However the growing awareness of the new

media has enabled public discussions and information

sharing.

Social media have a strong expatriate influence.

Many sites and weblogs are managed by citizens living

overseas and by foreigners residing in a given country. Until


129

There are also other benefits attached to social

networks such as career development and progression

and young people are aware of this and appreciate these

networks for the value they can add.

The social groups that the youth form and join give

them some kind of identity or character formation. The

groups are more or less formed along common values and

interests, hence the youth feel that they belong or fit in

to a particular group as opposed to another. Most often,

there is a natural genesis to the formation of these groups

without any one person making a conscious effort to pick

out one or the other but instead finding oneself naturally

fitting in with certain persons. Regular interactions with

friends with whom one shares certain values, beliefs and

interests, also helps to keep them in check from wandering

off the ‘boundaries’ of what is acceptable to oneself and his

/ her friends. There are thus unwritten rules that govern the

groups and everyone generally knows what is expected

of them. Amongst friends there is the expectation that

everyone must respect one another and maintain a level of

confidentiality within the group. Many youth said that no

one necessarily gets expelled from a social group and that

more often than not, this will also happen naturally when

someone opts out when he or she no longer subscribes to

the group’s way of thinking and doing things or altogether

have done something completely unacceptable to the

group. Alternatively the group members may also ostracize

a given individual until they realize that they have to opt

out.

There are also other groups which are somewhat

formal that young people belong to and these are

specifically formed for a particular purpose for example

special clubs or interest groups such as music, theatre, or

merry go rounds (self-help). The structure is more formal

in these groups with certain rules that the members need

to adhere to failure of which they are likely to be expelled

from the group. For example attendance of meetings,

contributions if any, punctuality, respect for other people’s

opinions and ideas and overall adherence to specific rules

and resolutions passed by the group or its leaders.

recently, most African Web content was designed to cater

to the needs of foreigners, visitors, and investors, and the

elites. Locally relevant Web sites are few (Chivhanga 2005).

Although the influence of contributions from outside is

still noticeable, today, social media, such as weblogs, show

more local contributions. In addition, mobile phones which

can access internet are being used as social media tools.

Some of the highly used Kenyan weblogs include

Mashada, Kwani, ThinkersRoom, AfroMusing, and AllAfrica.

In all countries, the social networking sites are accessed

by youths as they continue to become popular with time.

Across Africa, Nigeria is placed fourth among top countries

with Facebook users. Nigeria comes behind Morocco which

is the third and South Africa being the first and seconded

by Egypt. More males (577,580) access it compared to

females (313,560). Facebook usage is wildly popular in

South Africa with more than half (50.4%) of Internet Users

in South Africa represented on Facebook. Tunisia has 45%

of its Internet Users registered with Facebook, Ghana 29%,

Egypt 17%, Kenya 15.2%, Morocco 10.2%, and Nigeria 8.2%

(Web Trends, 2009).

In Ethiopia, AddisEthio.com is a social network where

one can connect with friends, get songs, news or chat. In

addition, Ethiomeet.com provides social networking site

where Ethiopians hang out to communicate, network, form

relationships and for entertainment.

There are different types of networks and

interactions that youth form and maintain. Some are

with family, teachers at school, older generation (so as to

learn from their experience), young children (to teach or

impart some knowledge to them), peers, girlfriends and

boyfriends, colleagues, among others. Friends or peers

are particularly important to the youth as compared to

the other interactions, sometimes even more important

than family. Young people benefit significantly from moral

support and understanding and in some cases financial

support from their friends.

“Friends help in being famous or being known, friends are needed in life because

when one is down, one can find comfort in a friend or in them during such moments…

Because there are things I cannot tell my sisters, my mother and father so at least

when I have a problem he is there(boyfriend) to talk to.”

Female 14-17, Dakar, Senegal

“I have to work hard on my social interaction because I know what I want to become requires it very

much. (Journalist).”

Female 14-17, Dakar, Senegal


Other reasons why young people like to join social

networks over and above moral support, financial support

or other include:

Opportunity to keep on sharing and learning new

things and ideas

Business opportunities arise – there is possibility of

advertising and selling to the people in your network

and also connecting to other people in your friends’

network (friends of friends)

Good way to spend their pastimes having fun with

their friends or doing an activity of interest together

– listening to music, watching movies, partying, etc.

Many youth have an inherent fear of missing out

(FOMO) hence are constantly seeking ways of keeping

in touch with their friends. Facebook for instance is

therefore an integral part of many young people’s lives

today as it has given them the possibility of being in

the know all the time.

Exposure to other cultures, beliefs and values and

hence gaining a better understanding of the same

Group dynamics – enhanced ability to communicate

and share more as a group as opposed to two

individuals who may not feel close enough to talk

freely when left to interact one on one yet there is

Interactions are quite regular particularly the social

ones with friends and peers in general. They meet daily

face to face especially at school or with those who live in

the same neighbourhood. Interactions with family and

other individuals such as teachers and colleagues are also

quite regular and face to face at home and at school.

Other modes and means of communication with

social networks include phone calls, emails, text messages,

letters and through social networking sites such as

facebook. Some youth in Senegal also said that they

communicate through telepathy! The youth generally said

that there are differences in people’s behaviour depending

on the mode of communication. For example when

speaking on phone, they often tend to be brief and to the

point because they are trying to save air time while if they

are face to face there is more opportunity to talk more and

share more detail and information which many youth like.

Also some youth said that communication options that

are not face to face e.g. phone, SMS or SNS enables them

to be more confident and brave to say certain things that

they would not ordinarily say face to face and they would

not feel too bad if someone else said something rude to

them for instance. Specifically on SNS youth said that their

friends seem to be quite different and take on personas

that are not what they know them to be in reality.

“I too have some links with some teachers who are both friends or rela-tives. We visit one another, call on the

phone or send messages becauseaccording to us we are one family.”

Male 18-21, Thies, Senegal

“If you are the one who has updated your status on Facebook, and people start

commenting on it, you have to stay with it to the very end… you cannot quit until all

has been said…”

18-21 Male, Nairobi, Kenya

“There are times like maybe I amstaying in the room and none of

my friends visit the whole day since we havedifferent times when we go to classes. I come back from class and I see noneof them or even hear from any of themover the phone. But then someone tells

you ‘I saw your friends go out’,I definitely feel bad.”


“Most of my friends like in school, on facebook we can actually talk and

comment on each other but when you meet it is just hi or hello.”


“I think we have grown so fond of our phones and it keeps us entertained.

So when my phone is off I wonder if people are trying to reach me and I am out of

coverage. So you switch it on hoping to get some missed calls but when you don’t you really get upset…I feel like no one cares…

I feel neglected.”



131

plenty they could learn from each other. The presence

of other group members enables such persons to

share and talk to each other.

Security whereby young people feel safer operating in

groups as opposed to solo for example when going

out partying or for some other kind of activity it is

important for them to go and come as a group.

Some things that the youth dislike about social

networks and interactions are:

Peer pressure – fear of being influenced by the ‘wrong’

group of people; those who do not have constructive

conversation and activities

Judgemental persons within groups

Pretentious personalities – especially on platforms

such as the internet i.e. social networking sites where

people tend to take on personalities that are not

genuine or a true reflection of who they are. As such

people get deceived in one way or another or undergo

negative experiences as a result.

Group dynamics can sometimes bring about

confrontations, arguments and disagreements which

many young people fear and would like to avoid –

their desire is to have peaceful interactions but this is

not always the case.

Danger of loss of self identity and individuality. Some

youth tend to subscribe wholly to their group’s way of

thinking and acting and completely lose any reserve

for self.


Chapter Six | Conclusions

We sought out to discover who the

African youth are as they constitute

the vanguard of Africa’s twined

demographic transformation. The study has given

us an understanding of youth in terms of emerging

social behaviours and lifestyles, ICT use, dreams and

aspirations, education and livelihood challenges. The

socio-economic and development challenges in Africa

which continue to be discussed in various fora at a

global level are also identified in this study. Though

there is often a ‘gloomy’ outlook as a result, this study

has found that the youth are facing the various day

to day challenges with determination, hope and

creativity. With very limited resources, youth are

trying to find workable and sustainable solutions to

the problems that they face. They are going to school

and getting an education albeit with its imperfections.

They are coming out into a saturated job market that

is struggling to accommodate them and they are

responding by exercising their creativity to come up

with entrepreneurial ventures to earn a living. African

youth are also exploring various avenues to nurture

and develop their personal skills and talents i.e the

creatives. They are embracing various forms of technology

and are quick to adapt and incorporate these into their day

to day activities. This has also provided the youth with more

opportunity to interact with global cultures. As a result it is

emerging that young Africans are now seeking to create their

own new identity – borrowing from the global knowledge,

experiences and values, and retaining some of their African

ones. The youth need to be empowered more and supported so

as to spread further the positive aspects that are coming to play

and which can quite likely drive socio-economic development

in Africa. There are various key players in this respect who all

need to be involved in one way or another. They include parents,

relevant role models and professionals (mentors) in various

fields, life coaches, employers, governments, private sector,

educational institutions / providers, publishers, curriculum

developers, the young people themselves, among others.

The following is a brief summary and conclusion of the

various challenges that African youth face in terms of education,

employment and entertainment (3 Es) in form of problem

statements and some of the issues to take into consideration

when coming up with possible solutions for the development

and empowerment of these youth.

132


133

Education

1. Corruption - The legitimacy of education certificates

is an issue in some countries e.g. Nigeria. Youth

reported that education certificates are not trusted

from Nigerian educational institutions and prefer

to get accreditation from non-Nigerian universities.

Needs / issues:

False certificates

Leaked exams

2. Resources - Several of the governments/citizens

of the countries studied face various challenges in

having or securing sufficient resources to secure a

good education for their youth

Needs / issues:

Affording school fees is a problem for many families

Number of schools are too few for students

(especially in the higher education levels)

Schools are poorly equipped – classrooms, books,

technical equipment, science labs, boarding

schools (hostels have to be shared)

Education can be digitized to help solve this

Learning in shifts is a common practice in some

countries (morning/afternoon)

Easier ways of putting up private schools and self-

tutoring can be options

3. Teachers - The quality and quantity of teachers is an

issue of concern in all the countries

Needs / issues:

Serious shortage of qualified teachers

| Untrained teachers are common especially in

the rural schools

| Teachers are too few hence class sizes are very

large

Teachers don’t have sufficient skills to develop the

students’ inherent gifts and talents

Lack of recognition or appreciation of teachers as

role models

Youth don’t connect with ‘old’ teachers

Teachers are lowly paid and demotivated

How can the profession be given more prestige

and recognition?

4. Post school avenues - The youth find few opportunities

to pursue further development of various activities that

they were involved in after completing traditional high

school

Needs / issues:

There is not a wide variety of training alternatives

once a student has completed school. There are

few opportunities e.g. in sports and arts for youth

development.

Vocational institutions are few and poorly equipped

There is also stigma associated with attending vocational

institutions

Building connections and information channels to

employers for attachment, internships, etc

Readily availing job market information to the youth

5. School clubs - Some schools host student clubs to tap and

nurture student interests and extra-curricular activities

though the emphasis is more on academic achievement

Needs / issues:

Clubs are formed in schools around academic subjects

e.g. maths, science

Arts clubs are also a common feature e.g. drama and

music (choir) and some sports teams e.g. football or other

6. Personal development - Students need various individuals

and counsellors to aid them in career decisions and

planning

Needs / issues:

There is a lack of distinct career mentors and many

schools don’t have course counsellors or guides

Interaction with industry professionals is low

As a consequence many youth are not prepared to think

about their career planning until a very late stage

There is no gift/talent profiling to assess student strengths

whether at home or at school

Widespread emphasis on academics over extra-curricular

activities

How can role models and education ‘content owners’ be

used?

7. ICT use - ICTs have not yet been effectively integrated

into education systems. ICTs are still viewed as an end

rather than a means.

133


Needs / issues:

ICT tools that are available are outdated – old

computers

The necessary infrastructure is not in place e.g.

electricity

Access to ICT tools is low, very few schools have any

computers and those that do don’t have enough to

cater for the large student population

The teacher literacy to train in ICT use is low

8. System relevance - Getting an education does

not translate into the empowerment or gainful

employment that it is supposed to bring

Needs / issues:

There are several school drop-outs along the way

due to the decreasing number of institutions as you

go higher. They end up with no alternatives/skills for

livelihoods

Students are not really educated in skill application

but cultured in memorization

Creative thinking is not developed, no room to think

outside the box or beyond exams

In some cases there are competing curricula within the

same country. Youth within the same country can have

two drastically different education experiences

Elimination of practical subjects from school

curriculums

The skills that students go with to the job market do

not match those that employers expect to get in their

new recruits

9. Language - The language of instruction is a key factor

in the delivery of education

Needs / issues:

Local languages are used in education delivery at the

lower levels in many countries but this leaves students

without good command of international languages

required for job placement

Development of the international languages (e.g.

English, French) is desirable

10. Life skills - There is a gap in the impartation of life-skills

to students

Needs / issues:

Lack of career guides

Entrepreneurship is not nurtured from an early age

There is an insufficient link/access to experts or

professionals in the field

There is little practical application of what is learned in

school; life skills are taught theoretically

Life skills are taught but are shallow and don’t

adequately address many of the current life needs of

the youth (e.g. sex education, HIV)

How can games or other fun and creative ways be

used to teach life skills?

11. Human factors

Needs / Issues:

The age/phase of development

Negative influences

Bullying and negative attitudes

Religion and superstitions

Late entry and delivery of some skills and information

Community

Cultural development

Sexual harassment

How can the super strong emphasis on academic

qualifications be balanced to look at other life areas

as well?

12. Community service - The culture of individualism is

being perpetuated through the education system

with students not willing to give to their communities

without getting anything back in return

Needs / issues:

There is a need to break the western culture and trends

of industrial evolution from a capitalistic, consumptive

culture to one of sustainable livelihoods

Encouraging youth to ‘give’ to their communities e.g.

the bright students can help the younger ones. Both

in terms of life skills and assisting in formal education/

tutoring

13. Poverty - Poverty is a general problem affecting

education in various dimensions

Needs / issues:

The low exposure to information and what one can be

or do in life


135

Poverty as a mentality; thinking ‘small’

Shaping and building cultures; non-

productive cultures

A victim mentality of blame

Leads to a quick money mentality e.g. in

Senegal

14. School drop outs - High number of youth

dropping out of school early due to

poverty, disillusionment hence disinterest,

inaccessibility to schools, limited spaces

available

Needs / issues:

School dropouts due to boredom in class.

Make lessons more interactive w ICTs

Schools are located far from homes in rural

areas – bring lessons closer to the people

Secondary and university levels are especially

affected

Get the school drop outs back to official/

unofficial education

15. Networking – communication

Needs / issues:

Peer certification

Negative association with corruption

Breaking boundaries (access, international)

Visibility

Job market realities

Public-private partnerships

Social networks are key to progressing in

professional life

16. Negative role models

Needs / issues:

Drugs are available to students in schools

Negative influences lead to bad decisions

(from prostitution, beachboys, gangsters)

Some of these role models seem to have

‘made it’ without getting a formal education -

they seem to make more money and interact

with the young people and impact their daily

thinking and decisions

Bullying

Employment

1. Formal employment

Needs / issues:

Formal employment as a true indicator of success; it is ‘the it’

Fixation with employment in MNCs/Big companies

Limited opportunities

| Too much emphasis and benchmarking on formal

employment; should foster and build value in alternatives

and personal strengths

| Celebrate and give visibility to successful local start-ups

and the likes

Limited time and flexibility to nurture talent

Processes that stifle creativity & vibrance of youth in the work

place

Tools and techniques that empower the youth to be creative, to

express themselves and to be heard; older generations should

find a sense of security in the process and be RMs/mentors

2. Creative and unconventional businesses

Needs / issues:

Agriculture as a business and not just subsistence

| Economies of scale or vertical farming to build agriculture

as a business

| Global markets

Creative economies

| Redirect or legalize unconventional livelihood activities

that demonstrate skill, entrepreneurship and brilliance

| Build talents and crafts

3. Experience and exposure

Needs / issues:

Lack of

| Information on industrial attachments and opportunities

to apply oneself

Taking the initiative to find/create the opportunity to learn and

practice (it does not necessarily need to happen at some big

company)

| Methods to share newbie experiences and to model and

experience a typical day in a career of interest

Travelling to other regions and communities

| Exchange programmes, virtual tours, ‘bring your child to

work’, ‘career days at the companies’


4. Community and family

Needs / issues:

Family expectations to meet certain responsibilities

and mentality of what you get is ours not yours

| Family ties that hold the subject captive

Societal norms that hinder creative and unconventional

micro-entrepreneurial opportunities

| Societal prejudices to non-white-collar jobs

Culture as a commodity for rural communities &

markets/avenues for this

5. Economies

Needs / issues:

Capacity

Nature of export/import ratio

Corruption

Government and other policy makers are key in

decision making, influencing and positive turn around

6. Information, access and Internet

Needs / issues:

Availability of information on all relevant areas like job

markets, entrepreneurship, etc

Access channels and devices to use media

Absent rural infrastructure and lack of know how e.g.

with internet

Internet syndrome

Marketing self and start-ups/micro-enterprises

Focusing blog content and value addition

7. Self-employment

Needs / issues:

Business mentorship from an early age

| How to start now, grow and sustain

Talent building and monetization of the same

How to start (information, resources, mentorship, etc)

Micro-business prejudices

| Creating esteem in micro-entrepreneurship

Global markets access

Cooperation/synergy amongst multiple micro-

entrepreneurs and in global markets

| Synergy and expansion avenues

8. Resources

Needs / issues:

Initial capital

Cost of information devices/channels

Provision of government subsidies e.g. seeds to start

farming

9. Employment opportunities

Needs / issues:

Limited and far between

Access to global markets

| Networking locally and internationally to access

knowledge and recommendation

Corruption, nepotism and the need to network

Racism

Structural employment (specialized education

without everyday application areas e.g. astronauts)

| Application of formal education

Fields not catered for formal education (no training or

degrees)

10. The self

Needs / issues:

Want to have it all and now

Dependency and lack of self esteem

Exposure to the market realities on desired careers

Luxurious lifestyle mentality and fixation on physical

wealth

Education effort not translating into the wealth

Self branding, networking and marketing

Fear of failure and not wanting to excel beyond level

of peers

Personal development and mentality change

Entertainment

1. Socialising and fun - Young people like to connect

with each other and share fun experiences together

Needs / issues:

Recording content from other media e.g. radio, TV,

computers to mobile

Creating ‘game-like’ experiences for phone use


137

Building in competitive and fun aspects to mobile use

e.g. job search, browsing, communicating, etc

Gaming – new and improved games for youth even for

low cost devices

Improve social networking by building in contextual

information to profiles

Cost – Youth need to socialize and network at

minimum possible costs

Type of phone – Low end phones may not have the

necessary features that enable maximum socialization

like internet, camera

Network issues – This might have a lot to do with

infrastructure and mobile service providers but

options such as ‘the messenger’ may provide a solution

Youth categories – Most youth categories fail to

interact with each other yet they could actually create

synergy from socialization and also share ideas. There

needs to be a breakdown an increase of interaction of

such groups for the betterment of individual members

of these groups as they share ideas

2. Talent building and self-expression - There is a lot of

creative energy and potential in the young people.

They frequently lack adequate tools to express

themselves or to know what they are capable of. This

can also be a channel for livelihoods.

Needs / issues:

Music tools

Video: easy to use tools or videos that can be shared

Building book clubs, poetry clubs, and other similar

platforms for sharing

Collective creation:

| Art works e.g. contributing design to local artists’

work such as music and videos – adding own

touch

| Appreciation and recognition e.g. for good

business ideas and initiatives and providing a

platform for people to actually do this in a fun

and creative way

Build a gaming culture

3. Content creation - Provision of tools to allow young

people to express their creativity and knowledge

Needs / issues:

Access to relevant literature and books

| Dictionaries, thesauri or encyclopaedias

| Editing possibilities to incorpororate contextual

information to literature e.g. pictures, music,

video

| Archiving of oral literature/local culture and

knowledge

| Text to audio translation

| Ways of improving grammar, spelling,

pronunciation

Edutainment options e.g. theatre plays which often

have social messages

Games are currently too simple or basic. There need to

be more advanced, interactive games.

Users don’t have the right devices

4. Content sharing

Needs / issues:

Movies on memory card e.g. as done in India (content

sold on cards)

Pay-to-view options

Access to mobile TV and movies is limited to a certain

number of phones. It is currently costly


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young africa

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statistical release p0318

cheikh anta diop

nokia research center

le jeune extravagant

sexually transmitted infections

sexually transmitted diseases

primary syllabus consists

population reference bureau