Youth outreach

The training that Revd Moses Otunga received at Centre for Urban Mission (CUM) gave him the vision and confidence to reach out to youths who were seen as outcasts and deviants by the local community in Korogocho slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Revd Otunga set up a youth group called 'Mwamko wa vijana' (translated 'Youth Arise'), and through this he reached out and loved them. Many of them are now reformed drug users and thugs.  

The training from CUM provided him with the knowledge and skills needed for this ministry. It was never easy, but he persevered and began with a small group and then built from there. As group members began to change, they wanted to offer hope to their friends too.

Besides offering the church space for meetings, Revd Otunga also rallies the church to support this initiative. From being a threat to security, the young people now offer a security service to the church and its secondary school (facilities, students and staff). The pastor is also the patron for the group and is currently helping it to register with the Ministry of Social Services so that it can be sustainable in the near future.

The group has 15 committed members. They are part of a credit-savings scheme, each making a weekly contribution so that together they can run income-generating activities. When they are not busy selling fruits, attending to their small vegetable farm, watering tree seedlings, attending training or doing garbage collection, you will find them in their makeshift gym in the church compound! Here they work out as they act as mentors to their peers who haven't yet changed.

Revd Otunga says: "I believe the little group I've managed to transform could go a long way in promoting social transformation in Korogocho and beyond. Most of them are living testimonies that people can change".

The now confident pastor is happy that although community members were suspicious of him working with the group, the transformation that has taken place speaks for itself.