For many years, youths from many parts of West Pokot County have been associated with retrogressive cultural practices like raiding other communities for livestock.

However, this is drastically changing for the better after an ambitious initiative was rolled out in West Pokot County aimed at empowering the youth to engage in business activities and shun harmful cultural practices.

Through the Ajira Poa project, the youth have been trained on business plans and development and issued with grants worth Sh800,000 courtesy of Anglican Development Services (ADS) and DanChurchAid (DCA) with funds from  Danida Organisation.

The job creation project is tailored to equip the youths with the market-driven skills required to secure a job or start a business. The youth are guided to identify their career pathways.

The Ajira Poa project has linkages for the youth like TVET courses, career workshops or seminars, life skills training, entrepreneurship training, access to finance or bursaries for education and training, access to finance for business and apprenticeship/internship/ job opportunities.

The project that is also being undertaken  in Nakuru and  Nyandarua Counties targets 1,500 youth to be skillful and engage in business ventures which will enable them to be employable and get opportunities.

Anglican Development Services (ADS) North Rift region Executive Director Peter Nyorsok said they have supported 20 youths with capital in West Pokot County who participated in the Ajira Poa project Dragon competition.

According to the official, the project helps the youth with capital investment to increase job creation and skill development for unemployed youth to be busy and  shun engaging in banditry and other social ills.

"Those seeking to start a business are taken through enterprise development training and get support to start and grow their enterprises," Mr Nyorsok told AVDelta News in an interview.

He said the grant will expand their existing ones with some of the youths already starting new businesses especially in lines such as digital and content creation, salon, beadwork, and tailoring.

"Many youths have been shut out of formal sector jobs due to their lack of relevant skills. That's the reason we want to empower them to be self-reliant," said Mr Nyorsok.

He said that there is a need for career counseling, coaching, mentorship, encouragement, and inspiration.

Speaking during the handing over of cheques for 20 youths at Kapenguria Youths Centre, Mr Nyorsok said that they were able to plot an idea that they were to supposedly compete for a capital investment in which they participated a dragon competition that was adjudicated by Endo Hub Eldoret.

Out of 80 business proposals presented, 20 emerged successful with cheques of capital investment.

West Pokot County Executive in charge of Education and Technical Training Rebecca Kide on her part said that a strategic plan in four(4) of vocational training centres of Kodich, Kapenguria, Sigor, and Chepareria for youths to get skills is already in place.

One(1) of the beneficiaries of the project, Janet Cheruto from Talau area who engages in beadwork, said that she got Sh50,000.

"We have been empowered a lot and as women… we now generate income by selling our beads. This has enabled us to meet our financial obligations as we no longer rely on our husbands for everything," said Ms Cheruto.