By AUGUSTINE ODUOR

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has challenged the youth to volunteer in schools and hospitals where staff is stretched.

He said challenges will always exceed the limits of the Government and asked the youth to play an active role in bridging the gap.

“It is time for us to go out and help those schools that cannot deliver the syllabus because of acute shortage of teachers and to offer services to those hospitals where few nurses are working over time to save lives,” he said.

He asked the youth to re-invent the spirit of service to the nation that appears to have died. The premier was addressing hundreds of youth from across Africa during the closing ceremony of the two-day conference on volunteerism.

Conference
The event, Africa Conference on Volunteer action for peace and development, brought together youths from Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.

The theme of the conference that ended Tuesday was Volunteer Action for Peace. Standard Group Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Paul Melly challenged the youth to ask presidential aspirants to explain what their manifestos have for them.

He said it is not enough for presidential hopefuls to talk about their thirst to lead the country yet some 2.4 million youths are projected to be jobless by the year 2030.

Mr Melly said the youth must be empowered in entrepreneurial skills. “It is a high time the region explores the various avenues of tapping the positive energy of the youth for productivity,” he said.

East African Community Minister Musa Sirma said the youth have a major role to play in uniting the regional block.

He said youth councils will be put in place and noted that it should not be the case that the young are not legitimate decision makers in the community.

Industrialist Manu Chandaria said it is unfortunate that there are six million youth pacing the streets of Kenya and the neighbouring countries today.

“The Ministry of East Africa Community, Comesa, the Civil Society, and the Private Sector together with United Nations Agencies planned this conference following the recent UN General Assembly adoption of the resolution on volunteer action addressing Sustainable Development and Peace objectives,” he said.