In 2019, Silas Nyamweya's beam of hope was fading fast as he barely afforded enough to pay for his basic amenities.
While working at a construction site at Umoja, Nairobi, the 38-year-old earned Ksh200 on a good day and at times, he would go home with Ksh100.
In an interview with Agenda Kenya, a Government publication, Nyamweya noted that he struggled to pay bills including his Ksh800 monthly rent.
He, however, noted that his fortunes changed when an Ajira Digital Centre was established in Umoja. Curious about the project, he went to the office to enquire more about the services.
“I went to the office located at the Kwa Maji Ajira Centre and found the manager who explained to me everything about the online courses, which are free. I chose content writing and research because I was passionate about it. I enrolled immediately for the one-month course," he stated.
Afterwards, he was linked with someone who was doing the job and began earning a decent amount. Nyamweya detailed how he began working on assignments which helped him to sharpen his skills. After saving the amount, Nyamweya was able to purchase a laptop and began to take on independent projects.
“My day starts at 7:00 am when I do the online work and then when I am not busy I go to Kwa Maji Centre and help around. Sometimes I start my day there and work on their machines," he noted.
Within months, the 38-year-old was able to transform his life and earn an average of Ksh50,000 a month.
“Most of the time I would struggle to pay my rent, which was only Ksh800. But since I joined Ajira, I am now able to pay my bills comfortably because I make between Ksh40,000 and Ksh50,000 a month.”
He noted that online work suited him much better as it accorded him the opportunity to work from anywhere and anytime.
"The best way to go about it is to start with training and be proactive when looking for online work. There are lots of opportunities online. Even those with regular jobs can still do part-time online work to supplement their earnings,” he pointed out.
Ajira Digital Program
Developed in 2018, the program was developed to deal with the high unemployment rate in the country.
According to the latest statistics by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the number of jobless persons grew 2.94 per cent from 2.89 million in September 2022.
The data indicated that an average of 1.54 million jobless Kenyans were between 20 and 29 years - underlining the crisis in youth unemployment.
