A new Community-Based Organisation (CBO) is fast changing the lives of the less privileged children in the Oruba-Ragana area, a place that is labelled as dangerous, with criminal activities being the order of the day.
The Oruba area is a slum in the outskirts of Migori town, a place that carries a negative connotation of harboring criminal gangs, violence, as well as having a high school dropout rate.
But the narrative is changing fast, thanks to the new Sagoma CBO that is creating a positive impact on the lives of youths in the area.
Sagoma CBO is currently educating 120 students in various vocational courses including tailoring, fashion and design and Information Technology (IT) to equip the youth with the digital skills needed to maneuver in the digital space, job creation and employment.
According to Sagoma CBO Director Samwel Ouru, the institution is offering courses to the youth in the area for free to empower them economically.
The organisation that came into the lives of the Oruba- Ragama community as early as 2006 has been helping the youth in the slum area of Oruba to actualise their full potential in life.
Ouru, in an interview with KNA recently, explained that eradicating poverty is not only about taking people to school but rather, changing the mindset of the youths to self-actualise their full potential and talents.
The 30-year-old man who is also the owner of GOMA Vocational Training Centre supported by the CBO, discloses that the majority of the youths who pass through the institution, especially those in the tailoring, fashion and design, are absorbed at his Samco textile company.
“I am offering economic skills to these less privileged youths to offer them a better life after school, create employment as well as help them find their feet in the job market through self-employment,” said Ouru.
The CBO aims to offer youths something to engage in as well as generate their wealth instead of over-relying on politicians’ handouts and criminal activities that endanger their lives as well as impair their minds.
He is encouraging the youths from the area, regardless of whether they dropped out of school or finished their high school studies, to join the organisation and acquire real-life experience to empower themselves economically.
The official, however, appeals to well-wishers to help GOMA institute with computers to enable it have a proper ICT hub to digitally empower the youths in the digital economic space.
“We want to invest and engage youths in the digital space to create online employment and nurture their digital skills to be self-employed, and the only way we can do that is by having a vibrant ICT hub,” said Ouru.
According to Joywinslet Masanga, a current beneficiary of the programme in fashion and design, the CBO has enabled her pursue practical skills in tailoring that give her hope of self-sustainability.
Masanga, who struggled to finish her high school education due to poverty, is now elated that the new practical adventure would not only provide her with the requisite skills to empower her economically but also motivate young girls in the community to enroll in the programme.
“It does not matter whether you dropped out of school or you are married. The facility will allow you to start afresh and make something out of your precious life,” asserts Masanga.
Mrs. Perpetual Tom, another beneficiary, who dropped out of school in grade nine, said that the fashion and design course would empower her to be self-employed and God willing, employ other youths to make a name for themselves.
“We want to change the name of our area in a positive light and see the potential that the Oruba residents can gain when properly empowered,” she said.
She called upon teenage mothers, married women and youths in general to join the programme and empower themselves economically for the sake of their future generations.
The Chairperson of the Migori Civil Society Organisations, Dr. Tobias Ogoll, expressed his satisfaction with the Sagoma CBO, noting that a lot of lives would be changed through the initiated programme.
Ogolla called upon more local CBOs to elevate the community they operate in by sticking to their vision and road map to create a lasting impact on society.
The official also explained that his office would connect CBOs to marshal resources to implement noble projects being done by CBOs at the grassroots level.
Ogolla stressed that the biggest challenge facing local CBOs is inadequate funding, poor organisational structures and limited capacity building, which makes the CBOs lack the necessary skills and resources to build capacity within their communities.
The official, however, applauded the efforts of Sagoma CBO that has enabled it to be in touch with the community by identifying real problems, looking for homegrown solutions, and implementing programmes that address Oruba residents.
By Makokha Khaoya and George Agimba
