Burundi President His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza is introduced to Isaiah Oyoo, a young entrepreneur by Youth and Sports Minister Prof. Hellen sambilli as other government officials look on.
The success of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund has attracted countries in the region, keen to empower their youth. The latest delegation to arrive with baskets of questions was from Malawi. The team of nine was in Kenya in a two day visit to acquaint itself with the programmes of the Fund.
Others that have sought to learn from the Fund include Burundi, Rwanda and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza visited Kenya in early 2009 and was taken to a Youth Fund supported project at his request. He said that his government is keen to run a similar programme.
On its part the UNECA invited a member of staff and a beneficially of the Fund to its headquarters in Addis Ababa to share experiences with other nations keen to have similar programmes.
While welcoming the Malawian delegation Youth Affairs Assistant Minister Wavinya Ndeti said that Kenya is faced with the challenge of giving the many jobless youth work. “We thank you for holding us in esteem and for considering us worthy to learn from. I trust that this is the beginning of a long-term relationship for the youth funds of Malawi and Kenya”, she added. She encouraged the two countries to establish a structured programme of experience sharing between their youth.
The team was led by Hon. Ralph Jooma the Chairman of the Budget & Finance Committee of the Malawian Parliament. He said that Malawi was encouraged by the strides Kenya had made in empowering the youth to create employment. “That is why we are here to learn from you”, he said.
Others in the delegation were Hon. Mchacha, member of the Budget & Finance Committee of Parliament and Mr. J. Naphambo, Chairperson of the Loans & Operations Committee – MARDEF. Others were Mr. Sinkhala Chief Youth Development Officer (Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture), Mr. G.C. Kafere, Deputy Director for Vocational Training (Ministry of Education) and Mr. J.S. Mononga, Chief Executive Officer – MARDEF. The team also comprised other senior government officials.
The Malawi Rural Development Fund (MARDEF) will manage the country’s newly launched Youth Fund.