Civic Life & Youth Voice

At some point your teenager develops political convictions, and they arrive fully formed, loudly, and usually at dinner.

For Kenyan parents this is not abstract. Young people have been at the centre of national events, at real personal cost, and the question “can I go?” is one many parents have had to answer with very little to guide them.

Let us be clear about the approach here, because it matters: this pillar is pastoral, not partisan. TCN does not tell families what to think about any government, party or policy. There is an enormous amount of political and human-rights writing on Kenyan youth movements, produced by people whose job that is. We are not adding to it.

What is missing is the parenting question underneath. How do you respond when your child wants to join something you are frightened of? How do you honour a genuine sense of justice — which is a good thing, and often a faith-formed thing — without pretending the risks are not real? How do you raise a young person who cares deeply about their country without becoming cynical about it?

The same pillar holds the migration question, which is close to universal in this demographic. Your teenager wants to leave. Sometimes that is ambition, sometimes it is escape, and telling the difference is most of the work.