ZANZIBAR YOUTH PROJECTS SECURE UN- HABITAT AID

Zanzibar. Six projects for the youth here have been given $14,000 each, by the UN-Habitat Youth Fund, it was announced on Friday at a function to mark this year’s World Youth Day.

Mr Eric Luguya, a UN-Habitat official from the UN agency’s head office in Nairobi, hailed the Zanzibar youth groups for securing the grants, as the youth coordinator- UN Habitat Tanzania, Mr Gadi Kalugendo, told the gathering that it was the first time in Africa for more than three projects to win the assistance.

“Since the launch of the organisation’s Youth Fund in 2009, no country had ever won more than three projects,” he said.

The youth support programmes cover 55 countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

The youth fund aims at assisting youth-led organisations to develop and implement projects that will contribute to sustainable urbanisation in the developing world. The fund further aims at documenting best practices from successful youth-led projects, and to create awareness of the need for youth mainstreaming in development policies and strategies.

According to the officials, a total of 76 applications from Zanzibar were screened of which 36 qualified for the grants, but due to shortage of funds, the projects were short-listed to six.

The lucky, youth groups for the grants are the Zanzibar Scrapers and Environment Education and Matemwe Control Aids in Unguja. Those from Pemba includes Education and Environment, Mkipi Miliki Company Limited, Lions of Development Cooperative Society, Selem Women Centre, and Mshikamano Youth Centre.

In her message to the youth day function held at Bwawani Hotel, the principal secretary, the ministry of Social Welfare, Youth, Children, and Women Development, Ms Fatma Gharib Bilali, thanked the UN agency and the main sponsor, Norway, for supporting youth development in developing countries.

“Youths should be given opportunities in decision making from family to global level. Zanzibar’s 34.2 per cent of the population are youth involved in development projects in efforts to minimise the impact of HIV, drugs use, and youth involvement in crime,” the PS said.

In his statement to mark the World Youth Day, the under-secretary- general of the United Nations executive director of UN- Habitat, Dr Joan Clos, said “in a world where more than half the population lives in urban areas and where the majority are young people, we need to ensure safe, wealthy, and sustainable cities for all.”

He emphasised in a statement read on his behalf by Mr Philemon Mutashubirwa, of UN-Habitat Tanzania, that young generations are the future and the world needs their vitality, creativity, and optimism.

Source: http://thecitizen.co.tz