Norman Kaindu: The Youth should focus on creating employment

Norman Kaindu is the Managing Director at Ras Youth Garbage Collection, a community organisation that deals with environmental health. 

This is in terms of garbage collection and waste segregation to ensure a clean environment. Their motto is ‘zero waste better life’.

Ras Youth Self-Help Group deals with garbage collection and environmental health. Norman is also a trained, certified and practising nurse. The 27-year-old shares his Career Path with the Sunday Nation. 

I was born at Kenyatta National Hospital. I am the last born in a family of four children. I grew up in Huruma in Nairobi. However, we later moved around the city. My parents instilled a sense of good character in me and this has greatly impacted the person that I am today. 

I attended Little Friends Junior Academy in Naivasha before I proceeded to Maranda High School for my secondary school education. Upon successful completion, I joined Pwani University where I studied Nursing and Public Health.

Ras Youth Garbage Collection was born of passion. My brother, Joseph Kimanthi, and I started it off while we were still in high school in 2010 as a joint project. 

We wanted to ensure a clean environment. We later turned the project into a business. We have grown to provide jobs to youths. At the moment, we have employed ten individuals directly who deal with garbage collection in estates and tens of others indirectly. Joseph is currently the CEO while I serve as managing director. 

That I have offered employment to other youths gives me so much joy.

The jobs keep the youth away from crime. Our role in managing waste has also helped in improving health.

The key driver of our growth as Ras Youth Garbage Collection has been the passion to ensure a waste-free environment through community involvement, education, sensitisation and empowerment. 

Lessons learnt along the way are that hard work pays. We celebrate the fact that we strive to ensure a clean environment for everybody.  

He says one of their biggest challenges is the lack of reliable transport for the garbage to the disposal site. Most of the time, they hire garbage trucks to ferry the waste. Sometimes the trucks often break down.

He attributes their success to a number of landlords and site managers who have believed in them and have given them garbage collection tenders.  

“I am proud that we have been able to keep the youth away from crime besides ensuring a clean environment. My advice to the youth in Kenya and Africa is that they should be focused on creating employment opportunities for themselves as this will reduce the level of unemployment in the continent.” 

“In future, I plan to ensure that our self-help group grows to become one of the biggest and the most effective in the country in waste management.”

“Looking back, I would actually not change a single thing in my life as every experience has been a lesson and a stepping stone to this point.”

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