This archive report was first published on 19 July 2020.
On July 19, 2020, the Correctional Services PS, Zeinab Hussein, launched the second phase of the National Hygiene Programme, also known as the Kazi Mtaani initiative, in the Waruku area of Dagoretti North Constituency.
The programme aims to provide a crucial safety net to numerous households, especially those in informal settlements of Nairobi County. It will target 55,524 youth, comprising 53,733 workers and 1,791 supervisors drawn from the National Youth Service and local champions.
Speaking at the event, PS Zeinab said, “This programme targets mainly the youth in a bid to give them a source of livelihood in this very tough economic time and to ensure that in earning their income, they are also contributing to the welfare and wellbeing of their communities.”
The programme will be rolled out countrywide, impacting more households across all the counties. The first phase, which was launched in April and lasted through June, was rolled out in eight counties with a budget of about KShs 760 million and was extremely successful.
PS Zeinab added that the programme will be moving towards engaging the youths in improvement of access roads and public utilities, over and above the hygiene improvement activities they are currently involved in.
“Progressively, we are going to add more skills-based tasks to the programme and will work with the youth to build access roads, public utilities, rehabilitation of public schools, hospitals and toilets; in the process, broadening their skills-set,” she said.
Nairobi Regional Commissioner, Wilson Njenga, said that the impact of the programme is already being felt with the rate of crime reducing on the back of a more engaged youth population.
