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MAKUENI YOUTH TO HACK THE FUTURE AT CLIMATE INNOVATION EVENT

Makueni County youths are gearing up to take center stage in the upcoming “Hack-a-GreenFuture” hackathon — a three-day, youth-led innovation challenge set for October 24–26, 2025 at Konza Technopolis.

The event organized in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme aims at harnessing the power of youth-driven technology and innovation to tackle climate resilience issues within the county and beyond.

Victor Apollo, Head of Solution Mapping and Timbuktoo Focal Point at Konza Technopolis, empasised on the transformative role of technology in addressing local challenges.

He spoke in Wote when he met top county officials.

County Secretary, Dr. Justin Kyambi affirmed the county government’s full support for youth initiatives and highlighted the broader scope of collaboration, including areas such as climate resilience, healthcare systems integration and intellectual property rights for innovations.

County Executive Committee Members, for Education and ICT, Japheth Mang’oka and Gender, Sebastian Kyoni also attended the meeting.

MAKUENI YOUTH POLICY

The policy focus on key sectors for better results and also recognizes Youth employment creation as a growing challenge and also attempts to provoke other County Departments with the opportunity to restructure and realign their implementation, coordination and monitoring mechanisms for effective service delivery to the youth. Clearly, now, more than ever before, is the time to collectively nurture, horn and proactively redirect the enterprising efforts of the Youth into the productive base of the National and County economies for rapid socio-economic development.

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MAKUENI YOUTH POLICY

 

Makueni youth in Rwanda for continental networking summit

20 young people from Makueni are taking part in this year’s Youth Connect Africa summit staged in Kigali, Rwanda.

The summit brings together young people from across the continent to share ideas on the possible opportunities that they can collectively exploit to empower themselves and engineer the much needed continental transformation.

According to the organizers of the event, the forum seeks to connect 100 million young Africans, empower 25 million youth with skills, create 10 million jobs for the youth and nurture a million young leaders.

The three-day forum was officially opened by Rwandese Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente on Monday 8th.

Makueni governor Prof. Kivutha Kibwana, also addressed the forum on Tuesday 9th.

He challenged policy implementers to involve the youth in policy formulation and work with them on youth empowerment initiatives instead of working for them. He also called for a paradigm shift in youth mobilization as many miss opportunities for lack of information.

“For young people to be empowered, they have to be informed. Most ordinary youths miss opportunities because policy makers only target elite youths by means of communication,” he said.

Makueni County executive for Education, Youth, Sports and ICT Dr. Naomi Makau said the 20 youths from Makueni are in Rwanda to interact globally with other youths from the continent and learn from best practices on how to empower themselves.

Naomi said plans have been made to ensure the skills acquired from the forum cascade down to all the villages across the county.

The 20 were competitively selected from the six sub counties, with each sub county represented by three youths and two from the Makueni Youth Empowerment Service (M-YES).

An application to facilitate the youth networking will be launched at the end of the forum.

MAKUENI YAADHIMISHA SIKU YA KISWAHILI DUNIANI

Serikali ya Kaunti ya Makueni kupitia Idara ya Biashara, Masoko, Viwanda, Utamaduni na Utalii ikiongozwa na Waziri Sonia Nzilani leo imeadhimisha siku ya lugha ya Kiswahili duniani katika shule ya upili ya mabanati ya Makueni.

Siku ya Lugha ya Kiswahili Duniani ilianza Julai 7, elfu mbili na ishirini na mbili. Maadhimisho haya yalianzishwa na shirika la UNESCO ili kutambua umuhimu wa Kiswahili, lugha inayozungumzwa na watu wengi zaidi barani Afrika. Siku hii inaadhimisha jukumu la lugha katika kukuza tofauti za kitamaduni, kukuza umoja, na kuwezesha mawasiliano katika bara la Afrika na kwingineko.

Daktari Sonia aliwahimiza wanafunzi kutilia mkazo lugha ya Kiswahili kwa masomo yao kwa sababu lugha hii ni tajika na imeweza kufanywa lugha rasmi katika Jumuia ya Afrika Mashariki na Kati na pia kuanzishwa katika mitaala katika nchi za Magharibi. Maadhimisho haya yalihusu michezo ya kuigiza, neno nenwa, hadithi za urafa, utangazaji na nyimbo za Utamaduni.

Kwa kuongezea, lengo kuu la idara ya Utamanduni, Muziki na Sanaa Makueni ni kujenga tamaduni zetu na kuhakikisha lugha ya Kiswahili inaleta hisia za stahiki na ubunifu katika shule zetu na kwingineko.

Baadhi ya waliokuwemo ni mwalimu mkuu Bi. Mary Akoth, mkurungezi wa Utalii Bi. Dianah Muli miongoni mwa maafisa na waalimu wengine. Kwengineko, Maadhimisho kama haya Afrika Mashariki yalifanyika katika Ngome ya Yesu (Fort Jesus) leo kufuatia usiku wa Kiswahili uliosherehekewa hapo jana.

KiswahiliKidumu

Makueni, World Vision Partnership to Quench Kalawa Ward

Kalawa ward is arguably one of the driest parts of Makueni county, perpetually battling water scarcities.

On a normal day, residents have to trek a considerable distance to fetch water from points that the county government has continued to develop across the expansive ward.

A partnership between the county government and World Vision is however projected to change the above scenario and make the ward one of the water secure wards in the county.

The two institutions are co-funding a project dubbed Athi-Kalawa Sanitation Project meant to distribute water to 80 % of the ward area.

The project involves pumping water from Athi River to Wii hills, construction of a treatment plant, construction of a 500 cubic meters reservoir and three distribution lines (Kalawa, Miangeni and Syotuvali) for communal water circulation.

World Vision national director Lilian Dodzo who paid a courtesy call to governor Kivutha Kibwana on Tuesday, to discuss the project progress, said the project purposes to cut the distance to the nearest water point from households to a maximum of 500 meters.

According to County Executive Committee member for Water and Sanitation Rosemary Maundu, the project is 30 percent done and phase 1 must be complete before end of the year 2020.

MAKUENI WOMEN WIN KYISA BASKETBALL 5X5 TROPHY

Makueni has clinched its first trophy at the Kenya Youth Inter-County Sports Association Games 2026 edition after triumphing in the Women’s 5×5 basketball final against Siaya.

The Makueni Queens staged a remarkable comeback from a 6–24 deficit in the first quarter to edge out Siaya 49–47 at the final whistle.

Makueni women sensitized on online entrepreneurship

The State Department for Gender has kicked off a sensitization drive on the 50 Million African Women Speak Project in Makueni seeking to connect local women entrepreneurs to their peers in 38 African countries.
 
50 Million African Women Speak project is a digital platform designed to provide a one-stop shop for information on how to run business, accessing financial services, creating business opportunities online and access to training resources in 38 African countries.
 
Florence Chemutai, an official of the department, urged women from Makueni to register for the Pan-African networking platform that is meant to connect 50 Million African women in business.
 
She spoke at Mukuyuni on Thursday during the official launch of the sensitization drive in an event attended by governor Kivutha Kibwana and his deputy Adelina Mwau.
 
Chemutai said the networking platform is a web and mobile-based application expected to directly impact African women and create a fair-waged job for both young people and women from the increased business activities and capital flow.
 
Mwau cited lack of access to capital as the main hindrance to the empowerment of women in Makueni, adding that such technology will open markets for mango fruit farmers among others.
 
Mwau described the initiative as “a very practical way of speaking to the general agenda of empowering women” with its business resources and custom-built social networking features already attracting thousands of women and connecting them to do business with each other and share experiences in ways that were previously not possible.
 
Governor Kibwana on his part emphasized that the program will give Makueni women a chance to showcase their products and link with a market of millions across Africa, in addition to leveraging on opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and mentorship as part of a vigorous online community of entrepreneurs.
  • October 2, 2020 in News

MAKUENI WOMEN MARK INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WITH CALL FOR JUSTICE

Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili on Monday led Makueni County in commemorating International Women’s Day during celebrations held at Green Park in Wote.

The event, themed “Rights. Justice. Action for All Women and Girls,” brought together women from across the county alongside schoolgirls to champion a unified call for justice, equity and empowerment.

Discussions during the event highlighted key issues including economic empowerment, access to education and skills development, climate sustainability, leadership and representation, as well as the importance of solidarity and collaboration among women.

Meryline Mbithe, a mother of five from Mbooni, shared her personal experience of surviving Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). Addressing the gathering, she encouraged women facing violence not to remain silent or endure abuse, but to seek help from relevant authorities.

Mulili, reiterated the county government’s commitment to protecting survivors and promoting gender equality. She highlighted several legal frameworks in place to safeguard the rights of survivors, including the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence policy, the Gender Policy and the Children’s Policy.

Through partnerships with development partners, she pointed out, the county government’s commitment to invest in the next generation of girls by supporting programs that address adolescent health, nutrition and reproductive health education.

Mulili was accompanied by Gender CECM Sebastian Kyoni, Chief Officers’ Nickolis Kaunde (Gender) and Felistus Mutune (Office of the Governor), as well as County Solicitor Jennifer Kyumwa.

MAKUENI WOMEN GROUP GOAT PROJECT WINS BIG AT NAIROBI TRADE FAIR.

Utheu wa Aka Self-Help Group was started in 1998 in Kikumbulyu South by 22 women, mostly widows, with a simple idea—pooling just Ksh 5 weekly to support each other.

What began as a merry-go-round to buy kitchenware, household items and even build homes for vulnerable members soon grew into something bigger.

Before devolution, the group received a grant of Ksh 120,000 from the Njaa Marufuku Kenya initiative.

Instead of spending the money at once, they wisely invested in dairy goats to fight famine and provide their families with nutritious milk.

With guidance from county livestock extension officers, they later adopted Toggenburg goat farming, which soon caught the eye of agricultural experts in the county.

Their goats earned recognition and were presented at the Makueni Agricultural Show, where they won top awards for three consecutive years.

Inspired by their success, the group advanced to the Nairobi International Trade Fair in 2022, winning trophies for champion male and female meat goats.

While visiting their stand at this year’s International Trade Fair, County Assembly Speaker Mbilu Douglas and the Agriculture Sectoral Committee commended the group for their remarkable success in scooping two champion trophies and 26 awards.

Beyond trophies, goat farming has become a steady source of income, transforming livelihoods and aligning with Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr ’s vision to empower women and youth.

Additionally, as a result of sustaining excellent performance, two members of the group have earned a slot in officiating at the international trade fair’s goat section.