It has now been over a year since the Covid-19 global pandemic hit the whole world causing a wide range of adverse effects to everyone. As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads in Kenya, measures to control it – such as school closures and partial lockdowns – continue. These have had adverse social and economic effects on vulnerable groups. One of these groups is the young people, particularly those who live in Nairobi’s low-income neighborhoods.
When Kenyan schools closed their doors in March last year, after the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in the country, there were no alternative learning options. Based on all the available evidence, the risks to children of being out of school are much higher than the risks they encounter in schools. Closing schools does not take children out of contact with each other and with adults. Rather, it takes children out of a protective school environment, in which their interactions can be controlled.
Recently, we had our first meeting with the young adults in Arising Youth International after being apart for almost one year. In our culture, the first day of meeting after being apart for such a long time is usually interaction day. We interact and share the experiences each person has gone through. From everyone’s experiences shared on this day, we can conclude that the closure of schools last year due to the pandemic had both negative and positive effects to these young people.
“After the closure of schools, I was so idle most of the time, the first days were manageable since I knew this period wouldn’t last long, most of the time I would be reading my books and helping my parents with house chores, as time elapsed, and it was so obvious that our return date to school was unknown since the pandemic had hit so hard in Kenya, I stopped reading. “said one of the oldest teenagers in the program. “Since there was no restriction of movement in Nairobi, my friends would come to my place every day. We would hang out in the hood, then later proceed to one of my friend’s house to play video games. We started smoking weed and taking alcohol most of the time to cope with the situation, it became a habit. I would get home late at night and repeat the same cycle every single day” he added. Most of the teenagers in the program struggled with substance abuse as one of the major challenges during the closure of schools, the pressure from friends to try drugs as a way to rebel and fit in. At least three of the teenagers admitted that during the break brought by the pandemic was their first time trying out marijuana and alcohol because of negative peer pressure.
Conversely, for some of the teenagers in the program, the closure of schools provided a unique opportunity to explore their interests. Joy, is one of the vibrant and out-going teenagers that we have in the program. According to her the closure of schools due to the pandemic gave her the chance to perfect her skills. Joy is passionate about make-up and beauty. “When corona virus pandemic hit, it led to the closure of all schools in Kenya, my school tried offering online classes for a while but it did not work since most of the kids are from Huruma slums, a low income neighborhood in Nairobi. Most parents could not afford the cost of internet required to attend the classes online, this made the whole effort fail.” said Joy.
Remembering fondly. Joy said, “I love make-up and beauty; I took this as an opportunity to improve on my make-up skills. Most of the time I would be watching tutorials on YouTube and Instagram on how to do a perfect make up and how to become the best make-up artist. My best friend Skyler is also interested in the same field as I am. We would learn together and practice on each other most of the time. After several months we became so good that girls around our neighborhood would reach out to us to apply for them their make-up and teach them how to do it, at a fee” she added. Joy was excited that she was able to use her free time to earn some little cash and avoid being wasted in substance abuse like some of her peers.
Before the long break that we had due to the pandemic, we had been working on developing entrepreneurial skills. The program emphasized the importance of setting up their own businesses in order to acquire financial freedom and independence. Joy applied the knowledge and made some money for both her best friend and her. We are so proud of her.
The indefinite closure of schools in Kenya for over 8 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic produced significant interruptions in the young peoples’ lives from the experiences shared during our first meeting. The teenagers’ main wish is that the government does not issue a total lockdown for the whole country again so that they can resume school in May, since currently Nairobi and the surrounding counties are under lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19 in Kenya.
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