 The donation, received on 3 August, was cause for celebration at Nairobi’s One Stop Youth Centre where hundreds of young people gathered to witness the launch of the computer project that is expected to change their lives for the better.
In the city of about 4 million people, the computer project will contribute to creating knowledge and capacity building so that less privileged young people can compete effectively in a world that is becoming more reliant on technology. The donation fall under a cooperation agreement signed between UN-HABITAT and Computer Aid International in June during the Third Session of the World Urban Forum in Canada. The agreement spells out how the two organizations will work together to apply information communication technologies to urban development projects. The official launch was witnessed by Ms. Gladys Muhunyo, East Africa Programme Officer at Computer Aid International, Mr. Johnson Ndwiga Kariuki, Director of Social Services and Ms. Mutinta Munyati, of UN HABITAT. Mr. Daniel Ngari, Coordinator of the One Stop Youth Centre, expressed the Centre’s appreciation and gratitude for the contribution of the computers. Computer Aid International is the world's largest not-for-profit provider of computers to developing countries. Computer Aid has provided 70,000 PCs to educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations in 104 different countries. More than 6,000 of that total have been sent to Kenyan schools, universities and non-governmental organizations. The One Stop Youth Centre is one of the strategies for the implementation of the Global Partnership Initiative (GPI) for Urban Youth Development in Africa. The GPI was initiated with the aim of addressing the diversity of challenges facing youth today in urban communities. This partnership acknowledges the need to meaningfully involve and engage young people at the city level in creating solutions to the problems they face. This innovative and ground-breaking centre provides a rare meeting place for young people to come together to get information and resources critical to their development. |
