Students from Kakuma refugee camp to benefit from free IT training

NAIROBI, Kenya, OCT 27 -Twenty candidates from Kakuma refugee camp and its host communities are set to undergo an intensive 30-week program co-sponsored by Windle International Kenya, Microsoft, and Elewa, a Kenyan education innovation firm.

The program which is run by iTalanta academy will be free of charge and is aimed at preparing the students for employment as IT developers.

The project is estimated to cost USD 149,500.

“Talanta” the Swahili word for “talent” aptly resonates with the aim of iTalanta which is to discover, develop and deploy talent, to fill a rapidly increasing shortage of IT resources in industrialized countries with a fast-growing and unlimited pool of talent in East Africa.

Graduates from the program are likely to gain interview opportunities with Microsoft African Development Center or be absorbed into the iTalanta apprenticeship program.

Phyllis Mureu, Executive Director of Windle International Kenya noted that Through the iTalanta Academy, the learners from Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kalobeyei Settlement, and the host community in Kakuma will have an alternative pathway to generate income.

“This resonates well with the current plans to ensure that both the refugee and host communities work together towards social and economic development in Turkana County”, she said.

The curriculum will be permanently supervised on-site by experienced coaches from iTalanta and key learning opportunities for the students will be both focused on programming as well as problem-solving skills which are highly relevant in the current market and IT space.

The students will be equipped with a laptop and a bicycle, for their daily commute to the campus in Kakuma.

The iTalanta program is focused on education & employment. It consists of three phases to respectively Discover, Develop and Deploy talent.

Jente Rosseel, Founder, and CEO of Elewa decried the increasing difficulty in finding quality IT resources in the industrialized world a phenomenon that affects corporate enterprises and startups.

“At iTalanta, we engage young Kenyan IT professionals for a 2-year apprenticeship. While gaining a substantial salary, they constantly up-skill their level, as they are coached and supervised by senior IT profiles,” he said.

It is expected that with the industrialization of the iTalanta Academy and the iTalanta Apprenticeship program, more than 1,000 talented youth will be educated and employed over the next 4 years by iTalanta.

A parallel iTalanta campus in Nairobi is in the works and will target young women from the Kibera and Mathare slums as target audience.

Once the Nairobi project begins, it will cost USD 37.500.