Youth First Kenya Project
2022 - 2024
Poverty and food insecurity create barriers to education enrollment, retention and transition, and many youths are forced to drop out of school in order to work and support their families. Early pregnancies, drugs and substance abuse also have a strong negative impact on teenagers’ mental health, which often goes untreated due to inadequate, inaccessible, unaffordable mental health care services. People and learners with mental conditions and other disabilities also face more barriers to fitting in at school and in their communities because of stigma and myths.
CBM Ireland, in collaboration with Fondation D’Harcourt, Basic Needs Basic Rights Kenya and Corstone US, aims to increase mental health literacy and promote resilience through Youth First Kenya (YFK), an evidence-based program targeting 13-15-year-old students.
Youth First Kenya is a teacher-facilitated, school-based program that draws from the latest research in positive psychology and social-emotional learning. Through a training-of-trainers approach, master trainers and county education officers teach educators to lead and facilitate student peer support groups while also improving their teaching practices. Through a dedicated curriculum, teachers learn to help students identify character strengths, solve problems, set goals, listen to others, work with classmates, and manage their emotions. Learner relationships with teachers also improve as they gain more confidence and respect. For the most vulnerable students, referrals to mental health services are provided for early intervention. Please read here for a brief selection of stories of change as shared by teachers who have directly benefited from the program.
The project raises awareness through multiple sensitization campaigns in the communities where the YFK curriculum is rolled out, specifically targeting pupils’ parents and guardians. School drama and music festivals also promote messages about healthy coping and mental health care. Joint peer learning sessions provide a platform for students to learn from each other and leverage on best practices to influence other learners and the community at large.
The YFK project is part of a Mental Health-focused Community Based Inclusive Development (CBID) program which aims to increase access to rights and participation of people with disabilities, particularly mental and psychosocial disabilities.
Project Highlights
16,800 pupils in 30 schools benefitted from the teachers trained in the resilience curriculum
30 head teachers and 10 Ministry of Education and Teachers Service Commission officials trained on mental health literacy, disability inclusion and resilience curriculum.
4,000 people received mental health information through the school’s drama festival.
6,000 parents and guardians reached by the resilience curriculum roll-out and events.
60 teachers, 5 curriculum officers and 5 master trainers trained on mental health literacy, disability inclusion and resilience curriculum to be adopted in 30 schools.
6,000 pupils in 30 schools directly engaged in the Youth First Kenya curriculum