Young People’s Health & Empowerment

The KMET Young People’s Health and Empowerment Department, formerly known as Sisterhood for Change, was established with a vision to empower girls living in informal settlements, particularly adolescent mothers—by equipping them with practical skills for improved livelihoods and access to health services. Since its inception in 2006, the department has been at the forefront of providing youth-friendly health services, vocational training, recreational activities, and safe spaces where young people can engage freely in conversations on sexual and reproductive health. It oversees the operations of the KMET Technical and Vocational Training and Empowerment Project,

Research to date has identified young people’s perspectives on a number of health‐related topics such as smoking, alcohol, sexual health, physical activity and healthy eating. Whilst this body of research draws important attention towards young people’s views on topical health concerns, it arguably remains located within a pre‐defined agenda; thereby marginalising young people’s own, and potentially different, frames of reference when discussing health. In light of this omission, the aim of this paper is to examine young people’s own understandings of health in line with their own frames of reference.

Since its inception in 2006, the KMET SFC youth center provide youth friendly health services, vocational training, recreational activities and safe spaces for girls to engage in discussions and express themselves freely especially on sexual reproductive health issues. The project empowers girls through vocational training in the areas of food and beverage ,hairdressing and beauty, and tailoring and dressmaking. The girls also produce reusable sanitary to other girls in and out of school. To date, the school has graduated more than 1000 girls with whom majority have ventured into starting their business hence self-employment.

Learning network of adolescent known as Brain trust is a network of organizations working on girl child programs in Kisumu, Siaya and Migori Counties. The network was conceptualize in August 2008, on the realization that many organization both rural and urban based operate with no organized network. The program aims at bringing together girls, network members and other stakeholders to share learn and develop programmatic guideline that will strengthen the girls’ programs in the three counties which will impact skills, healthy attitude and behavior change through sharing experience and best practices. The program is currently working with 13 CBOs from Kisumu, Siaya and Migori Counties.

KMET Freedom House, a member of the National Shelter Network (NSN), supports adolescent girls and young women (24 and under) who are vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) due to limited access to services and information. The shelter provides holistic care including medical support, counselling, legal aid, and community sensitization to survivors of defilement, incest, intimate partner violence, and rape.

Through this community-driven approach, Freedom House empowers survivors, strengthens local support systems, and fosters a more informed and protective environment. Freedom house has to date provided shelter

Formerly known as Sisterhood for Change (SFC), KMET Technical and Vocational Training College was established to address the pressing needs of vulnerable adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 10–24 in Kisumu County. The program focused on empowering AGYW through education, life skills, and behavior change to combat issues such as high HIV rates, teen pregnancies, and school dropouts.

KTVTC has since evolved into a fully-fledged institution offering practical, market-driven courses in areas like Food and Beverage, Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy, Tailoring, Social work, ICT, and Entrepreneurship. Alongside vocational training, the college provides life skills and psychosocial support to ensure trainees are holistically prepared for both employment and personal growth.

The program aimed to enhance access to and demand for comprehensive Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) information and services for individuals aged 10-24 years, including addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV in 3 counties (Vihiga, Siaya, and Migori), targeting both boys and girls.