Right now, more than 300,000 Kenyan youth live and work on the streets.
What is Kito?
Kito International is a non-profit social enterprise with a simple philosophy: give street youth an economic opportunity, and they will WORK their way off the streets and out of poverty.
What is the problem?
Street youth face a life of disease, poverty, exploitation and violence. Some street youth survive collecting metal scraps and washing cars, while the most vulnerable turn to prostitution. Millions of dollars are invested into humanitarian programs that offer youth food, clothing and shelter, but they often fail to keep youth off the streets forever. In a country with 75% unemployment among youth ages 18-35, street youth can’t compete in the job market. They want to get off the street, but they need an opportunity.
Why is this important?
When youth are neglected or marginalized, they can become a powerful source of violence and civil conflict. Violence and conflict can halt a nation’s economic, social and political growth. But when street youth are employed, they become empowered, earning their own salary, and serving as a role model to their families, their community, and their peers still on the streets.
What is Kito’s theory of change?
Kito believes that ‘moving off the streets’ means ‘getting out of poverty.’ If street youth are given an economic opportunity that enables them to work their way out of poverty and become self-sufficient, they will stay off the streets forever.
What is Kito doing?
Kito partners with youth to create Kito-run businesses that provide jobs to participants and allow them to become self-sufficient.
Kito currently operates a business, EcoSafi, which employs graduates from our training program. EcoSafi, meaning “clean environment” in Kiswahili, makes handcrafted gift bags and cards as well as custom screened t-shirt, sweatshirts, banners, etc. The business serves as a hands-on method of learning for Kito’s training program graduates.
In pursuit to achieving its mission, Kito partners with corporations and other organizations to create exit strategies for the graduates which ensures that our youth continue to earn an income and live decent lives.