LivelyHoods, a non-profit organization that gives youth n slums the chance to earn an honest living, has launched a campaign to help the thousands of jobless youth in Kenya. They want to open a second shop that will create over 50 jobs for talented Kenyan youth to sell things like solar lamps in their community.
“The majority of youth in Kenya is jobless and struggles to earn a livelihood. Instead of handouts or “band-aid” solutions, we believe in creating access to opportunity. What if we provided creative youth with jobs? What if talented youth could actualize their potential? That’s what we do at LivelyHoods!” says LivelyHoods.
In 2011, the organization opened the first retail shop in Nairobi slum that served as a center fro more than 65 youth sales representatives. This shop has managed to help many of the slum youth when they sold quite a number of the solar lamps, sanitary towels as well as cooking stoves.
Currently LivelyHoods wants to raise $25000 to open a second shop. They will buy inventory and store fittings as well as recruit 50 sales representatives in the next year. The co-founder of LivelyHoods, Maria Springer said that in order to raise the money she will wear 25 bands on her face each band representing $1000.
“I’ve pledged to wear 25 band-aids on my face in public. Yes. You read that right. It’s time we go beyond ‘band-aid solutions’ and create jobs for youth in slums. For each $1,000 dollars we raise, I will lose a band-aid. Want one?” she said.
She will apply new band-aids every day and take off for each $1,000 that is contributed. She’ll even publish a video of herself doing that.
Springer also added that in case they do not manage to raise the money the amount of money they will have collected will by put towards employing youth the store that is in existence.
This organization was formed by students from UCLA and Stanford universities, technology start-ups and banks in Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Chile and is now in Kenya. They launched LivelyHoods in 2011 with a team of youth from Nairobi. Follow their adventure on @LivelyHoodsORG