Finding Youth Led Solutions To COVID-19—Lockdown Live!
Depression, stress and anxiety among the youth are the most common psychological disturbances during this Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by The Youth Café, a Kenyan based Pan-African nonprofit organization. It further states that Covid-19 has created uncertainties about the future amongst the youth. The report is made possible through the partnership with Ford Foundation. Here is the executive summary of findings. For media inquires, contact us. And if you want to be part of our dissemination, here is a customisable toolkit!
“To write this report, The Youth Café and Sussex Writes at the University of Sussex joined forces to address the challenges that young people are facing due to COVID-19. The Lockdown Live series was an initiative planned to create awareness about the global situation of the world in the wake of COVID -19.”
Government measures to control the spread of the pandemic such as lockdowns, quarantines and cessation of movement, led to massive job losses.
A Series of events /webinars were carried out to address issues that have emerged across platforms as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. The intention was to help find a coping mechanism for the situation as well as find solutions to emerging problems. Key focuses on strengthening meaningful engagement with the youth, amplifying their voice and actions in supporting the expansion of civic spaces and advancing civic engagement.
The objective of the initiative was to understand the struggle regarding learning, mental health and misinformation.
Willice Onyango, the Executive Director of The Youth Café, said they organized 15 Zoom webinars, in which participants from different nations participated and freely talked about their challenges. They also did over 100 Facebook live events on the impact of Covid-19 on the youth.
“This pandemic has resulted in the loss of many lives and created uncertainties and negativity towards life,” says part of the report. The key issues include; mental health, misinformation, Challenges in learning under lock down, job losses and loss of life.
The participants who took part in the series of online meetings by The Youth Café reported to have received a greater sense of positivity, togetherness as well as new insight and purpose in their lives. This was as a result of the wealth of knowledge they were equipped with on coping mechanisms and their involvement in providing solutions to the issues as a result of Covid-19
However, Onyango realized that although Covid-19 was tough on the youth, it has also exposed the mental challenges that existed even before the pandemic.
“Mental health is a serious issue that individuals should acknowledge. This calls for awareness and intentionality in managing our health,” he said.
He added that the governments and associated organizations should develop elaborate mental health programs for the public.
“Acknowledging mental challenges and actively seeking help is the most important step in the process. Having a strong support system lessens the likelihood of mental issues,” he said.
The Youth Café will make use of the research in its decision making, webinars for peer discussions, expert opinions, survey tools and the perspectives of our team members presented as blogs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also brought to light other emerging issues like; Gender Based Violence, rise in teenage pregnancies, Domestic violence and Corruption (Covid-19 Funds). These topics are areas that The Youth Café can offer its expertise on and an opportunity to make key contributions through research and advocacy.
There is an ongoing investigation on alleged misappropriation of COVID 19 funds in Kenya which exposes the lack of transparency and accountability in the management of the funds. The Youth café continues to engage youth to track COVID-19 funds through the Action for Transparency (A4T) portal, despite increasing difficulties in accessing information on their allocation and utilization. Partner with us in report dissemination to your audiences and network.
About The Youth Cafe
The Youth Café is a not-for-profit pan-African youth organization founded in Kenya in 2012 and officially registered in 2014. Since our founding, our strategy has always been to look at today's youth bulge as an opportunity for development and economic growth. This is why are the seen as the lead organisation for implementing multidisciplinary and multi-perspective projects including Peace and Security, Preventing Violent Extremism; Governance and Political Inclusion (Remittances and Accountability); Culture, Arts, and Sports; Education and Skills; Business, Job Creation and Entrepreneurship, Universal Health Coverage, Environmental Preservation and Climate Change. We aim to model, inform, and advance youth-led approaches to sustainable development, environmental stewardship, social equity, democratic governance, and economic viability by utilizing innovative research, media, policy, advocacy, as well as cross-cultural and intergenerational partnerships. To date, we have reached 1.6 million young people across Africa.
Context and bases for the establishment for The Youth Cafe:
Young people make up the bulk of Africa’s total population with an estimated 75% of the continent’s population below the age of 35. From a demographic point of view, this calls for a paradigm shift towards the recognition and support of the youth to harness their potential to foster community resilience, propose innovative solutions, drive social progress, youth empowerment and inspire political change. Young people are a tremendous and essential asset worth investing in. We hope to open the door to an unparalleled multiplier effect as our message spreads. Learn more. For media inquires, contact us.