Dreams Reloaded: How Maker Space is giving Mukuru youth skills to redefine their future

In many informal settlements across Nairobi, young people often find themselves at a crossroads.

Poverty, limited access to quality education and even the lack of safe opportunities for growth push many toward dead ends. For most, the future feels out of reach, defined more by survival than ambition.

Yet in Mukuru, Maker Space is slowly changing lives by equipping young people with practical skills and the confidence to rewrite their life stories.

Maker Space, a programme under Wajukuu Art Organisation, was born out of a gap.

Wajukuu had long run a Kid’s club for children as young as seven, offering them art and mentorship. Yet, once those children reached their teenage years, many disappeared.

Kimathi Kaaria, head of Maker Space says adolescence came with questions of belonging and a sense that they had outgrown the kids club.

Too often, that exit route ended in teenage pregnancies, early marriages or drugs.

Faced with this reality, the organisation sought a way to bridge the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Maker Space began as a mentorship initiative with beadwork in 2018, giving teenagers something to do and a way to make small earnings.

Over time, it grew into a structured programme with short courses in photography, web design, business and, earlier, woodwork. What started as an experiment became a lifeline for young people whose education journeys had been cut short.

In many communities, girls are expected to follow tradition, often leaving little space to pursue personal dreams.

Neema Finds Her Voice

For 19-year-old Neema Abdirahman from a Borana Muslim background, this reality was no different.

But through Maker Space, she says she discovered not just skills, but also her voice and identity.

Neema first joined Wajukuu Arts in Standard Seven, finding a safe place to draw, create, and express her feelings.

Even when she went to boarding school, she would return during holidays to reconnect.

Teachers and mentors encouraged her, reminding her that “your art is perfect, even when it isn’t,” giving her the courage to keep going.

After completing high school in 2023, Neema heard about Maker Space’s scholarship for photography and web design. Though she knew nothing about the industry, she took the leap.

With dedicated trainers, access to resources, and supportive peers, Neema quickly grew.

“It was everything I had dreamed of; the perfect teacher, the materials and the chance to give my time,” she said.

For her, photography is more than a skill, it is a language.

“I wanted to use images to tell stories about my community, to show how people feel and what happens in society and I can proudly say that I already made my first photo story,” she said.

Growing up in a culture where women are often limited to domestic roles, Neema found empowerment at Maker Space.

“Even though I come from a society where women are not upheld, Maker Space showed me that with my hijab I can still achieve anything. I am becoming the woman I want to be, and I can change the narrative.”

Beyond photography, Neema is learning web design, coding, and entrepreneurship.

She dreams of becoming both an artist and an entrepreneur by combining photography, business and even her love for baking into a life she chooses for herself.

Vincent’s Second Chance

For Vincent Muema, a 21-year-old from Lunga Lunga in Mukuru, Maker Space came at a time when life had thrown him off course.

After finishing high school in 2022, he briefly enrolled in college for electrical engineering.

Financial struggles soon forced him to drop out.

With no qualifications, he turned to casual work, living hand to mouth and often struggling to cover his needs.

A friend who had gone through an earlier cohort of Maker Space introduced him to the programme.

For Vincent, it felt like a lifeline. He joined the photography class and quickly found a rhythm.

He has also picked up video editing, a skill that is already giving him side gigs.

“I am now able to take good pictures and do photo shoots on weekends where I get paid something small,” he said.

Muema says the challenge remains balancing his daily needs with the demanding weekday schedule. Yet, he persists.

“Despite the tight time schedule in the programme that requires maximum discipline, I am very grateful for the opportunity and believe it will bear fruit soon,” he said.

His wish is that the organisation could expand and admit more young people.

To him, the number of youths who could benefit in Mukuru is far larger than the 30 spaces available per cohort.

Lisimba’s Rediscovery of Purpose

In Viwandani, 22-year-old Lisimba Mwangi had almost given up on himself.

He finished high school in 2019 and joined college, but the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted his studies.

By the time schools reopened, he no longer had the motivation to continue which later grew and often felt his life had no purpose.

What followed was years of inconsistent jobs and an overwhelming sense of purposelessness.

Relief came when he joined Maker Space after hearing about it from a friend who was part of the programme.

For Lisimba, it became more than just learning a skill.

“Once you join the programme your thinking changes beyond the simple way of earning small money to aiming for bigger fish. It also expands your brain on how you can multitask and still be a student,” he said.

The programme not only sharpened his skills in photography and web design but also instilled discipline.

He laughs at how keeping time was once impossible for him. Now, he says, he follows the centre’s code of conduct faithfully.

The free, high-quality training left a deep impression on him.

“It is rare to get such opportunities anywhere. Since I got these skills for free, I feel responsible to also teach anyone outside who might be interested,” he added.

“This programme has connected me back with my spark. I now feel like life has value again, and I can see light beyond the tunnel.”

His only disappointment is that woodwork, the unit that drew him in, was suspended due to floods that destroyed learning spaces in 2024. He hopes it will return in future.

Even so, he applauds Maker Space for its impact, right down to the meals provided for learners.

His biggest wish is that more young people from Mukuru can get a chance to benefit.

“What Wajukuu is doing is changing lives. More youths deserve this opportunity.”

Mary’s Pursuit of a Dream Studio

At 23, Mary Wanjiru had already gathered a certificate in beauty and massage therapy.

After finishing high school in 2018, she had ventured into affiliate marketing and online sales to make ends meet.

A relative who had gone through Maker Space introduced her to the programme and she joined with a clear goal in mind.

“Photography was my passion and I needed skills in web design to help me promote and market my beauty products online,” she said.

She explains that the classes have given her the ability to angle images for marketing and to present herself professionally adding that business training has sharpened her sales skills.

Balancing motherhood with classes has been her biggest challenge. With a young child at home, she sometimes struggles with punctuality.

Yet the effort is paying off. She recently secured a weekend marketing job, putting her new skills to use.

“It has been my dream to open a studio and now that I have the skills nothing is going to stop me,” she said.

She further promised to ensure the investment Wajukuu as made on her won’t go in vain as she added that she will definitely make them proud.

For the youths of Mukuru, the programme is more than short courses. It is about reshaping identities and possibilities.

Neema speaks of finding her voice through art, using painting to tell stories she once felt too shy to share.

Vincent holds onto the hope of stability through photography.

Lisimba has rediscovered his spark for life and Mary is determined to open her studio.

What unites them is the sense that they are no longer trapped by circumstance as Maker Space has given them not just skills but the confidence to dream and to act in a place where opportunities are scarce.

Inside Maker Space

Maker Space is a free programme in Mukuru designed to equip young people with practical and creative skills.

Running on a six-month cycle, the programme operates from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm and provides lunch to keep participants focused throughout the day.

At the end of the course, graduates receive a certificate.

Courses include photography, web design, business, art and woodwork.

Photography and web design run three times a week, while business and art alternate on other days.

Each cohort admits 30 young people selected from about 100 applicants, with priority given to those who grew up in the Wajukuu children’s club. The rest of the slots are advertised online.

“Selection is done through face-to-face interviews, with vulnerability and commitment being the deciding factors,” Kaaria explained.

Funding for Maker Space comes from BMZ and Stiftung powered by Bild, two German organisations that have partnered with Wajukuu Art through the Club of Engineers and friends.

Over three cohorts, about 90 young people have gone through Maker Space. Some have found jobs directly from the programme.

Kaaria shared how one alumnus from the first cohort secured a woodwork contract abroad, while another landed a position at a large company even before finishing.

He added that alumni are also behind Wajukuu’s own documentaries, showcasing their growth and contribution.

Freshia Njeri, head of the Kids club, noted that alumni often inspire younger children by showing them what is possible.

“Our achievement includes a number of our alumni who have been able to make something out of themselves with the skills learnt from the organisation,” she said.

She explained that despite the impact, the initiative has faced its share of challenges noting that floods remain the biggest threat, sometimes making the centre inaccessible and forcing classes to pause.

Limited resources mean that students share laptops at a ratio of one to two, while hundreds of eager applicants are turned away.