Following an increase in the youth unemployment rate in Kenya, 7.27% as of 2021, there has been a surge in crime indulgence. Whether it’s to escape boredom, to have a sense of belonging or to simply get with the times and buy the coolest watch in town, crime has become the norm for a lot of young adults.

A few youths have however, noticed this gap. The joblessness and isolation that comes with finishing high school and no fee to pursue higher learning, or studying in campus and finding no work and thus having little to no purpose. They have decided to capitalize on it, not for the financial profits but for reformation, education and involvement gains.

Taking a matatu to Kawangware, CDF you find a huge field. At first glance, it seems like just a football field, given the young boys playing the sport there. But there’s more than meets the eye. Here we meet Aden, a reformed youth and the founder of Team Change; an organization whose aim is to make a difference in the lives of the young adults(engaging in crime) within the informal settlements.

 “…nilikuwa mwizi. Wakati nilikuwa mwizi, nilishikwa. Nikaenda jela five years, nikarudi. Vile nilienda nikarekebika nikaona nianze Team Change. Yaani kureformisha watu wengine…”

Aden kicks off the conversation with his backstory of being in prison, getting reformed and wanting to extend the same to his friends who were still living a life of crime. His idea is that to successfully reform a criminal, they need to engage with another reformed one.

In the ghetto, young people emulate their older peers. If one steals, another steals. If one changes, another changes. It’s one thing for someone who has never had to steal to survive to try and appeal to these youths. And it’s another thing for them to be spoken to by one who looks like them, talks like them and has had to go through the same challenges, but has managed to overcome. The message of change is more palatable when it comes from the latter.

Team Change group is involved in different reformation efforts but in their main program, aptly named Resist Crime chaired by George, they go to different low income areas to educate the youth on the dangers of crime and different avenues to earn an honest living. A few of the businesses they’re involved in include; renting chairs for events, selling organic chicken and their products, and recently, renting out a tent that has been donated to them by the Jonathan Jackson Foundation. In the long term, they hope to build a public washroom for the community to encourage good hygiene practices and make them available to the community at an affordable cost. In addition to all these, they also have plans to start providing free food for the homeless children within the area.

The small team has managed to reform a few youths in Kawangware, some being artistically inclined. They have planted trees in spots that were previously dumping grounds and have painted murals of famous voices of change from Kenyan freedom fighters like Dedan Kimathi, environmentalists like Wangari Maathai, presidents like Thomas Sankara and musicians like Tupac Shakur. These murals help bring the youth who believe in the philosophies of the popular figures. By doing this they’re able to start conversations that jump-start the change they want to bring.

Even with these changes, George says, there are still so many challenges that they are facing. While beginning, they had to let go of some of the youths they initially thought to have reformed, because they reverted. This is the most difficult part of the reformation process. But their participation in the Mini MBA, facilitated by KCEO, should push them towards finding more confident solutions to the problems that they face while bringing forth change.

Through these gradual movements and increasing efforts, the small team is managing to foster a culture of honest living and anti-crime sentiments in their community.

Team Change, Kureform Ndiyo Form.