Abdirazak Abdi is a 21 year old young man who lives in the Korogocho slums in Nairobi. He is one of the beneficiaries of the business development training and computer training offered by Altaawon Satelite youth centre.

Prior to his engagement with Altaawon Satellite Youth centre , Abdirazak had lost hope with life. He was idling in the community, seeking handouts from friends and depended on unreliable casual labour. Abdirazak was brought up in a poor family and his parents could not afford to educate him beyond secondary education level. Hopelessness struck after he realized that he could not pursue higher education due to lack of finance and the fact that his family was not in a position to meet  his needs.

“I completed my secondary level education at Eastleigh High school in 2005 after which I could not proceed to university or college because my family could not afford to pay for my college fees. I have since been trying to make ends meet until I chanced on an advertisement for sponsored training opportunities in Altaawon,” he says. { In the previous sentence we are saying the young man did not get higher education and now we are saying he was in Eastleigh High schoo. Let us delete this or we talk of lacking tertiary education TO)
Abdirazak applied for the business and Information Technology training at Altaawon. During the training Abdirazak became very committed and was among the best candidates in his cluster.  Recognizing his creativity and interest in IT, Abdirazak was awarded a scholarship by Altaawon to study web design. Upon completion, Abdirazak was empowered to look for employment and he was able to secure a job in one of the IT firms in Nairobi. This was just the beginning for Abdirazak who had for long aspired to be an entrepreneur.  After six months of employment, he used the knowledge and skills he had acquired in his business training to start up a business in freelance web design. He is currently mentoring four young people from the programme. The Altaawon Satellite Center has also been connecting him with clients, therefore expanding his networks and improving his business prospects.

Abdirazak is now able to support not only himself but also his siblings. He has become a symbol of hope for his entire family. “I attribute all my success to the Entrepreneurship training I got from UN-Habitat and Altaawon; if it was not for the trainings I would have been a hopeless man and a burden to society.” he concludes.