The Manyatta Youth Resource Centre serves over 200 youth from the slums of the 3rd largest city in Kenya. MYRC fields award winning dance teams, organizes drama groups to bring peace, health, and anti-drop-out messages to schools, helps artists record and perform their music, provides soccer teams, sponsors school tuition, pays for books, and mobilizes clean-up days. The activities provide productive choices, increase self-esteem, develop skills, and diminish the likelihood of violence.
The Manyatta slums of Kisumu on Lake Victoria in Western Kenya provide few positive outlets for youth. Many are orphaned by AIDS or violence and malnutrition is common. Most live on less than $1/day. Kids seek thrills with glue-sniffing and join gangs. Girls are confined to home and often don't finish primary school. Unemployment is officially more than 30%, more than half live below the food poverty line, and 60% have no access to piped water. Frustration boils into violence and armed robbery.
Drama, Dance, Music, and Sports programs develop the varying talents of girls and boys. Our dance teams win awards. Troupes perform skits at schools & games. Musicians perform, record at a studio, and earn $$ selling CDs. Youth are trained in video production, photography & graphic arts. Soccer/football teams for girls and boys host games, and tourneys. Food is provided on game days. Youth get help to stay in school. The programs give girls and boys a boost to escape the slums.
Girls and boys are learning communication, sports, and performance skills they would not otherwise and they will stay in school. Their successes encourage others to try. Participants will have experiences and knowledge they can put to use in helping develop Kisumu. Over time, cultivation of trust among team members, performers, and their mentors will lead to a better ability to work together to solve the many problems within the community. Conflict resolution skills may help deter violence.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
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