Our Vision and Mission

Vision

WEZA’s vision is an equal society without poverty; a society in which people can influence decisions that affect their lives, enjoy their rights, and assume their responsibilities as full citizens of a world in which all human beings are valued and treated equally.

Mission

WEZA’s mission is to develop and empower active and effective future leaders; and encourage active youth citizenship at the national and county level.

Background

Youth have the potential to be a tremendous force for change, it is that potential that the WEZA Programme aims to empower. Young people have a deeper understanding than policy-makers of the realities of their own lives, including the experience of education, training and the challenge of finding a good job. However, they are rarely listened to and are disenfranchised as legitimate rights-holders. Institutional, social and cultural barriers limit the places and spaces for the articulation of their needs and concerns.

Often, young people are deemed too young, immature, lacking knowledge and expertise. Some youth groups in particular are socially excluded through formal (laws, policies) and informal (social and cultural traditions, practices, attitudes and norms) institutions and relations. Through this they are denied access to resources, services, spaces and opportunities open to other social groups.

The youth thus feel that there is no clear path to include them in leadership positions. As such, their challenges of unemployment and poverty remain rooted on the ground. These challenges have recently created smooth pathways for extremism, youth radicalization and joining terrorist organizations as statistics from the internet show.

These influences, challenges and social difficulties result in the reduced participation of youth at county and national level, even in development initiatives intended to address their needs.

In Kenya the elderly dominate society. As a consequence, youth have limited opportunities to participate in decision-making processes, even in family and political matters. The WEZA Programme aims to empower youth to actively and effectively participate in decision making processes.