The State Department of Culture and Heritage has committed to constructing a Youth Empowerment (Culture & Talent) Centre in Wundanyi, Taita Taveta county.
The Sh141 million state-of-the-art centre is set to spur the growth of the town through a beehive of youth empowerment projects to be offered.
“This will be a one-stop shop for all youth-related activities, talent nurturing. We expect to tap and nature the rich potential of the youth in the county,” Herman Shambi, the department’s Secretary of Administration said.
Shambi who led the groundbreaking ceremony in Wundanyi on Friday on behalf of the Principal Secretary Ummi Bashir said the project will be developed in 3 phases with phase one starting immediately.
In addition, Shambi said, the new centre will be a home to all the Taita culture, thus being resourceful in the promotion of tourism and the creation of jobs for residents.
“This region boasts of a rich culture and tourists attraction sites that can be promoted through the center. Women and youth groups should position themselves ready to take up the opportunities,” Shambi said on Friday.
Wundanyi MP Dan Mwashako said that the project will be a game changer for the youth and all the people of Wundanyi since it will host a number of key facilities tailored for the youth.
They include an amphitheater, a music recording studio, and arena for indoor games such as boxing, table tennis and darts.
Further, the center will host an innovation hub, cultural library, and restaurants dedicated to Taita and Taveta traditional foods among other facilities that shall showcase the region’s rich culture and tourism.
“I want to applaud the government for accepting my proposal and setting aside funds to start off the project. The centre will play a role in creating jobs and economic empowerment for the youth,” the legislator said.
Mwashako said the project comprises various income-generating activities which will keep the local youth engaged hence shying away from drug abuse and other social vices.
County CEC for Youth, Gender, Culture and Sports Shedrack Mutungi underscored the importance of the project, noting that it will be very crucial in the preservation and transmission of culture and heritage which is at risk of extinction.
“It is a key project for the young people who are the main beneficiaries since a lot of jobs will be created hence uplifting the living standards of the local community,” Mutungi noted.
Mutungi said the county government will work closely with the state Department of Culture and Heritage to promote and protect the county's rich cultural heritage through the construction of the centre.
This comes even as the county government is working to convert under-utilised social halls into ICT hubs in a bid to empower the youth through digital opportunities.
Mutungi said the county government targets to use under-utilised social halls across the county as resource centres to empower young people and nurture talents.
The executive noted that many social halls in the county have been in a dilapidated and deserted state because of being underutilised.
The hubs, Mutungi said, will be resourceful in providing the government with important information such as Access To Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO), financial management education, Women and Youth Access to Finance Programmes and job opportunities, among others.