THE PROBLEM
Organized criminal networks have entrenched themselves within communities, preying on systemic poverty and limited opportunities to recruit vulnerable children and youths for illicit activities. According to the Global Organized Crime Index, Kenya holds a criminality score of 7.18, ranking 16th globally, 4th in Africa, and 1st in East Africa—positions that underscore the severity and sophistication of these networks within our borders.
With 38.6% of Kenyans living below the national poverty line and 67% of 15–34-year-olds unemployed, our nation’s brightest talents are left idle, desperate, and susceptible to the lure of quick but deadly “solutions.” The situation is even more severe in slums—where 65% of the population is made up of children and youths and where chronic gaps in education, skills, and economic opportunities have created fertile ground for junior gang recruitment, with children and youths being deployed to sell drugs, hide firearms, and store the proceeds of crime, normalizing illicit behaviors from as young as ten years old.
Every moment without intervention tightens the grip of these networks on our children and youths. If we fail to act now, we risk permanently sacrificing a generation, our most valuable resource, to a cycle of exploitation, violence, and broken futures.
THE PEOPLE
We serve children and youths aged 10–34 living in Kenya’s urban informal settlements, where poverty, high unemployment, and limited education make them prime targets for organized criminal networks. Many lack basic skills, economic opportunities, or access to legal and social support, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation from as young as ten. Despite these challenges, they possess creativity, resilience, and leadership potential that often goes untapped. Our work focuses on high-risk communities, schools, and local hubs, providing pathways for youths to resist criminal influence, apply their talents positively, and become active change-makers in their communities.
ABOUT US
Young Offenders Legal Aid and Reform Advocacy (YOLARA) is a Public Benefit Organization that was founded in the year 2020, working to protect indigent children and youths in Kenya’s informal settlements from recruitment into organized criminal gangs.
In many informal settlements, children encounter crime early, not as spectators, but as participants. Organized criminal networks exploit poverty, idle time, and limited opportunity to recruit children and young people into illicit activities. As options disappear, crime begins to feel normal, even necessary. Without early intervention, these pathways harden into cycles of arrest, incarceration, and lost potential. YOLARA exists to break this cycle early before contact with the criminal
justice system becomes permanent.
Vision: Thriving young people. Safer communities.
Mission: Help indigent Children and Youths break free from the grasp of organized crime through early intervention, justice, and opportunity.
OUR APPROACH
YOLARA’s work is grounded in one belief: isolated, single-issue interventions that ignore the full reality of a young person’s life do not produce lasting change.
Our model weaves together protective intervention, access to opportunity, informed choice-making, and a sense of belonging. Each element reinforces the other, creating a resilient foundation that supports indigent children and youths as they navigate complex challenges. By addressing root causes and providing sustained support across different aspects of life, we pave the way for lasting impact because change in isolation is never enough.
OUR CORE PILLARS
1. Access to Justice and Legal Empowerment
In Kenya’s underserved communities, indigent children and youths are often thrust into the criminal justice system not as criminals, but as victims—of poverty, neglect, and exploitation. Without access to legal representation, a child accused of petty theft may spend years on remand, exposed to hardened offenders and the predatory reach of organized crime.
This legal invisibility fuels a dangerous cycle. Gangs and traffickers prey on unrepresented youths, offering protection, money, or belonging—turning childhood despair into criminal enterprise.
Pro bono legal representation is more than courtroom advocacy—it is rescue, redirection, and reform. With legal aid, a child can be diverted from incarceration to education, from stigma to opportunity. Early legal intervention reduces reoffending and restores dignity dismantling the pipelines into Kenya’s criminal networks. Each child defended is a life reclaimed—and a community protected.
The choice is clear: we can either let poverty continue to recruit for organized crime, or we can invest in justice that heals and prevents. Let us stand for Kenya’s future—one child, one case, one victory at a time
2. Economic Inclusion and Youth Enterprise pathways
We provide training to indigent youths in essential life skills—resilience, leadership, financial literacy—and business management. Teaching them how to develop viable business plans, navigate marketing strategies, and manage finances. But we don’t stop at training; we provide what many programs fail to—direct access to start-up capital and long-term mentorship.
Youth participants embark on a dynamic learning journey that includes workshops followed by one-on-one mentorship with experienced entrepreneurs to develop a solid business plan, after which they will receive seed funding and ongoing incubation support. This holistic model is designed to empower youth with both the “know-how” and the “do-it” support to transform their futures ensuring that their ventures not only launch successfully but also thrive in the long run.
3. Prevention, Psychosocial Support & Community Engagement
At YOLARA, we reach young people where they are—before the streets do.Through school outreach, we equip students with knowledge, confidence, and support to resist gang recruitment. In the community, we use art, music, and football to build trust, spark dialogue, and offer positive alternatives.Every match played, every story shared, is a step away from crime—and a step toward hope.
See our impact in action. Watch our short documentary to discover how YOLARA uses football, art, and grassroots outreach to shield vulnerable youth from organized crime and help them rewrite their stories.
👉 Watch the Documentary here: https://youtu.be/T615PqY38YQ?feature=shared
OUR PARTNERS
