Hope for Kenya Slum Adolescents Initiative

HKSAI beneficiaries

HKSAI

Hope for Kenya Slum Adolescents Initiative (HKSAI) works to advance opportunities for low-income Kenyan adolescent girls living in slums through investments in their education, health, skills training, life skills, and job prospects.

HKSAI provides counseling and mentoring services to empower young people with the information they need to lead healthy and dignified lives. The organization also helps teens attain quality education through scholarships and provides financial resources and skills development to help young people start their own small businesses.

We at Hope for Kenya Slum Adolescents Initiative would like to extend our deepest gratitude for your unwavering support and generosity, Population Connection. Your continued contributions play a crucial role in helping us bring our projects to life and create lasting positive impact in our community.
Our partnership enables us to pursue our mission and work towards inspiring adolescents and youths leading independent, dignified, and healthy lives. We are truly inspired by your dedication to our cause and couldn’t achieve our goals without you.
Once again, thank you for your trust and investment in our work. We look forward to continuing our collaboration and achieving even greater success together in the future.
– HKSAI, December 2024

HKSAI’s training program provides teachings on social entrepreneurship and savings, impacts of drug and substance abuse, adolescent sexuality and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and prevention of gender-based violence. HKSAI also creates a space for young people to demand social justice through community dialogues, which help engage policy makers on issues affecting young people, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, early and forced marriage, and gender-based violence.

HKSAI was founded in 2018 by Melvine Ouyo. Growing up in a small village in Busia County on Kenya’s western border, Melvine witnessed firsthand the pain and suffering of women and girls due to gender-based violence and teen pregnancy. Her own mother was only 16 when she gave birth to her.

2026 At A Glance

In 2026, HKSAI implemented comprehensive education, health, mentorship, livelihood, and advocacy programs across informal settlements in Nairobi and Uasin Gishu counties. The organization also made significant progress in strengthening its internal systems and institutional capacity to support sustainable growth and improve program delivery.

Highlights include:

Directly served 93 beneficiaries and reached 8,658 additional people through community programs, distributing 2,414 sanitary pads and providing SRHR, mental health education, counseling, and mentorship to more than 5,000 young people.
Engaged more than 1,000 participants through Menstrual Hygiene Day and Day of the African Child outreach activities, including menstrual hygiene kit distribution and interactive menstrual health training for students in Kibera.
Through its education and vocational programs, HKSAI supported 38 secondary students with tuition and retention services, assisted 54 youth with university applications, and provided vocational, financial literacy, and driver training to young people and women entrepreneurs.

Looking ahead, HKSAI remains focused on building long-term institutional sustainability while expanding its impact. By investing in stronger systems, local partnerships, and youth-centered programming, the organization is positioning itself to better serve its communities, respond to local needs, and create lasting opportunities for young people across Kenya.

“Defying all odds, I promised myself to work to reverse structural biases that expose women, girls, and other vulnerable individuals to such vices and depravities as gender inequities, early and forced marriages, gender-based violence, and lack of education, by providing them with opportunities for social and economic empowerment.”
– Melvine Ouyo, HKSAI Founder and Executive Director

Photo: Melvine Ouyo at the 2022 International Conference on Family Planning in Pattaya, Thailand. © Olivia Nater, Population Connection

Milly, a HKSAI secondary school beneficiary, all smiles after a successful admission to Form One and the assurance that her full tuition fee has been paid by HKSAI at her dream school. A dream come true for Milly, whose elderly parents could not afford school fees.

Photo Credit: HKSAI

Virtual Events with HKSAI

Global Partner Series: Hope for Kenya Slum Adolescents Initiative

We marked International Women’s Day with Melvine Ouyo, Founder of Hope for Kenya Slum Adolescent Initiative (HKSAI). Through our partnership, we help support HKSAI’s Hope through Education Empowerment Program. This is a transformative initiative to elevate enrollment, retention, and graduation rates in higher education institutions.

Presentation Date: March 6th, 2024

More details here

Gallery

HKSAI beneficiaries

HKSAI beneficiaries during their graduation at Grandlys School of Hairdressing and Beauty-Kayole in Nairobi.

Melvine and HKSAI beneficiaries pose for a photo.

HKSAI community dialogue and sensitization forum.

Hope for Kenya Slum Adolescents Initiative (HKSAI) activation with Population Connection banner in the background.

Experiential learning. Hope for Kenya Slum Adolescents Initiative (HKSAI)

Learn more about HKSAI in this Q&A!

A helping hand for Kenya's vulnerable girls: Q&A with HKSAI

Through our Global Partners program, Population Connection supports a growing number of grassroots organizations around the world working to increase access to education, public health and family planning services. Their…