By Diana Meso.

USIU-Africa through the School of Science and Technology (SST) has been offering ICT skills training; mentorship, basic computer skills, computer coding skills and computer digital animation skills as a Community Service and providing virtual learning to 60 youth and adolescents in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Turkana County.

The training which started late last year is an initiative by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) through Refugee Education Trust (RET) under the US Marafiki program at the US Embassy Nairobi. It is aimed at enhancing vulnerable youth to acquire technological skills for self-reliance and bridging digital divide to improve their livelihood.

Expected to last for eight months, the training further aims at equipping the youth with skills necessary for building mobile as well as web applications, to improve refugee youth income generating capacities, improve employability and enable business start-ups as well as develop scalable solutions to problems they face in the camp. The training was also an opportunity to assist the youth access online jobs in the outsourcing industry besides using animation in the camp for information dissemination, community mobilization, entertainment and education for free or for pay.

Seven members of faculty and staff including Dr. Collins Oduor (Assistant Professor, Information Systems and Technology), Mr. Brian Omusse (SST ICT Lab Assistant), Dr. Leah Mutanu (Lecturer, Information Systems and Technology), Mr. Hillary Igunza (SST ICT Lab Assistant), Dr. Rachael Diang’a (Assistant Professor of Film and Chair, Cinematic Arts Department), Ms. Emily Nyabere (Lecturer of Animation) and Mrs. Rachael Mutuku (Office Administrator-Student Mentoring & Support, SST, SPHS) have been conducting the training at the refugee camp.