On Paper, Alice Gathekia is the perfect match for any legal department in corporations. She has worked for the Law Society of Kenya and with COMESA Court of Justice.
However, despite her consistent efforts dropping her application in town, she remains unemployed. She founded Kenya Youth Professionals with fellow youths that were facing the same plight in an effort to fight for better employment for young people.
Why does the youth need to step up now?
“Our government had promised about 30% of employment slots to youths in their campaign manifesto. This includes formal employment or tender allocation. It is time we held them to their promises.” She says.
Alice is the deputy director of Kenya Youth Professionals (KYP) and has petitioned the members of National Assembly on the issues that plague the youth in general when seeking employment.
This includes a reduction in experience in the job descriptions put out to give the youth a chance. She is also keen on getting a youth-friendly Principle Secretary in the Youth Docket to deal with Youth Affairs, and reduce the amount of government certification is needed prior to an interview.
When asked the major issues that have inhibited youths from getting jobs, she says without hesitation that the absence of generational change is a major cause. It has impeded the youth from accessing opportunities ideally designed for them.
The advanced retirement age and the scarcity of jobs leave the incoming youth out of the employment slots given that there are genuinely no jobs to go for. The lack of mentorship has also led to the degradation of the employment scene.
This scarcity accelerates corruption as well, which, to be honest, is really a buzzkill in Africa’s economy.
[bctt tweet=”It is time for the youth to step up and take their rightful place ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]
Alice’s faith in the Kenyan youth
Alice described the Kenyan youth as innovative, creative, and hard working. To her, it is really wrong that there is an unfair distribution of jobs despite the qualifications. She believes that it is time young people fight for their space in the political, economic and social world.
She believes that once given the chance, the youth is equal to the task of leadership. After all, young people have more to lose in the future if they make wrong decisions.
This motivates Alice to spend her time petitioning the government institutions to fight against the odds that are stacked against the Kenyan Youth.
What are the challenges she encounters?
Some of the challenges she and her team face includes the politicising of the agenda. Some rival groups and ill-willed people often accuse the group of having a political ‘Big brother’.
This is a conditioning of the political mindset where people fail to realize that young people can fight as well as wage wars against systems set in place discriminate against the youth. This campaign aims at ensuring that the youth catch up from previous injustices visited upon them.
For her, this is a lifetime mission not only in Kenya but also in Africa in general. It is time for the youth to participate in making decisions that will benefit them in their future rather than a span of short time.
This does not need to be the grandest action and a simple start can go a long way. It is time for the youth to step up and take their rightful place. KYP stands by their motto: “Nothing for us without us”.
A normal day for Alice
Alice wakes up about 6 am, and her morning routine often involves putting herself together (which includes makeup because…why not).
She travels to the city, and depending on the day, spends several hours in meetings discussing the issues that surround youth employment and how to resolve them.
Alice intends to globalize this movement, which, to her and the rest of us, is a few years late.
[bctt tweet=”Alice Gathekia is the modern day Khaleesi of Youth Revolution” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]
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