YOUTHS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - INVESTING IN YOUNG PEOPLE

PROJECT TITLE: INVESTING IN YOUNG PEOPLE

BACKGROUND

YOUTHS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT otherwise also represented by the initials YUSUD is a registered non-profit making, non-religious and non-political youth led Community Based Organization (CBO) that provides a forum through which the youth can articulate their issues and work together for their holistic development, as they prepare to become honest and responsible leaders and agents of positive change.

YUSUD's main objective is to promote and encourage socioeconomic development especially amongst the young population in Kisumu East District. The vision of YUSUD is to ensure a proactive participation of the youth in societal development. The mission of YUSUD is to empower the youths to become key participants in the management and sustainable utilization of locally available resources for sustainable livelihoods through Capacity Building, Advocacy, Research, Information Dissemination and Networking. YUSUD has embraced the "Social Entrepreneurship Concept" by combining the passion of a social mission with business disciplines, innovation and determination and is therefore strategically using Business Model Approaches in responding to Social Problems such as HIV/AIDS pandemic, Poverty, Unemployment, Under-Employment, Drug Abuse, Teenage Pregnancy, Prostitution, Crime, Environmental Degradation etc which have hit hardest on the young people and the vulnerable members of the society in Kenya

YUSUD is committed to being a dedicated youth-led CBO that consistently meets and exceeds the expectations of its stakeholders. To achieve this goal we are committed to professional quality and service excellence, and we recognize that we must consistently exhibit this in the work we perform. We are certain that our dedication will deliver the highest caliber performance, so that our stakeholders can achieve their goals.

JUSTIFICATION:
Kisumu has a very high poverty level, combined with high unemployment and HIV/AIDS that have hit hardest on the young people and the women. Kisumu has an estimated population of 700,000 and is generalized by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and high AIDS mortality. The following are some statistics about Kisumu:

• 48% of the people in Kisumu live below the poverty line (compared to 29%nationally)
• It has the highest incidence of food poverty, with 53.4% of the population below the food poverty line (compared to 8.4% in Nairobi)
• The official unemployment rate is 30%, but 52% of the working population is engaged in informal sector activities
• 60% of the population lives in slums, with high densities, in only temporary or semi-permanent structures, and with a shortage of basic services like electricity, water and sanitation.
• Only 40% of the Kisumu population has access to piped water. Low ICT penetration
• High illiteracy levels with a high school drop-outs
• Kisumu has a high HIV/AIDs rate of 14% of the total population infected, compared to 7% nationally. This is compounded by the high rate of malaria and water-borne diseases.

LEGITIMACY OF YUSUD

• YUSUD is dully registered as a CBO with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development
• YUSUD is registered with the Kenya Revenue Authority and is compliant with the tax regulations
• YUSUD is registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) of the U.S. Federal Government to receive grants from US based organizations and Business entities.
• YUSUD has a current membership of about 124 and still counting due to continuous recruitment
• YUSUD operates an independent Bank Account
• YUSUD works closely with all the relevant Government authorities including The Municipal Council of Kisumu, National Environmental Management Authority-NEMA, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Ministry of Trade and Kisumu Town West Constituency Development Fund on policy issues in regard to the implementation, M&E and sustainability of the project.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Samba Nixon
CHAIRMAN/CEO
MOBILE: (+254)0721295974
YOUTHS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
P.O. BOX 9512 CODE 40141 KISUMU
General email: info@yusud.org
Website: www.yusud.org