Youth Affairs Association(YAA) is a newly founded Civil Society Organisation (CSO) with a vision and mission for Kenyan youths at large, fostering the active participation of young people from diverse social, economic and ethno-racial family backgrounds in civic life and community leadership. As a national body for the youth, the YAA recognizes the contributions of the young people to all aspects of Kenyan society and acknowledges the diversity and universality of that contribution.

We opt to enhance dialogue with the key stakeholders in acknowledging the development of a diversity of youth participation process and commitment to drawing on existing and developing new mechanisms to ensure young people contribute to policy, governance, representation and other aspects of our organization's activities.

YAA was founded in year 2007 by: Paul Mwaura Mungai and Caroline Soila Leiyan (youth activists), after their realization that youth have always been lowly represented in all spheres of life even though they have the potency. They felt that, youths in Kenya lacked a national body that would represent their grievances. YAA officials are dedicated to serve the youth of Kenya diligently and exercise the concept of transparency and accountability without fear or favor. Among the association's officials are:

• Paul Mwaura Mungai - Chairman
• Bosco Odhiambo Okumu - Vice Chairman
• Teresah Wafullah Nekesa- Secretary
• Wilson Muirani Gathoni - Assistant Secretary
• Caroline Soila Leiyan - Treasurer
• Lenah Achieng' Olum - Assistant Treasurer

Youth in Kenya, in the organization's view are those who are not completely dependent upon their parents and other adults to provide them with necessities and guidance with which to navigate life, but at the same time, they are not yet independently able to sustain themselves and provide solely for their own children and other family members. We believe youth may be best determined by the economic viability.

Youth Affairs Association shall address a problem endemic to Kenyan youth quest for sustainable development by providing youth with ethical, moral and life skills with which to counteract the powerlessness that we feel in the face of events that threaten human security across Kenya. Currently, imperialism and the ruling elites have subjected the nation to degrading and negative experiences stemming from diabolical forces of materialism and hegemony with the sole burning passion of retaining power at all costs. Their action reinforced structures and belief that leaders consecrate their powers on tribal and regional basis depending on the demographic factor of a tribe or region. This has created inequity, undemocratic political space, and violence in all its various forms. These structures have then bred pathologies that distort human spirit, making people easy to manipulation and easing maintenance of the debilitating status quo.

Though Kenyan youth, we have been hyped as the major stakeholders and bastion of hope for the future of the nation, yet harsh economic, social and political realities have hit us hard and deprived us of passionate, optimism and believe in the future, the greatest assets of our stage of human development. Youth have learnt to far, mistrust and accept aggression as part of life, many have sought to hide their pain, anger and frustrations in drugs, gangs and other destructive activities unaware of how their actions affect themselves and others in the society. Thus, Kenyan youth are demonized as a clueless, spineless generation, lacking identity and direction, the major reason of foundingCivil Society Organization(YAA). On the other hand, their restless response to prevailing condition is often met with repression through the use of force and promises of ‘you are the future leaders of tomorrow’, which is meant to mollify their passion and vigor. The uncanny future of tomorrow seems to be in perpetual displacement in space and time, as it is with the traveler walking towards the horizon. It is the incumbent on Kenyan youth to decide when the future becomes the present for their people and leaders who will end these structures that distort human spirit (tribalism and regionalism), and when tomorrow’s dusk dawns as new day .

YAA seeks to make our leaders understand that suffering is real and that hurting people has terrible and often life long consequences that can be difficult or impossible to rectify .We have been made to feel insignificant by our leaders who value wealth and power without a feeling of the Common Mwananchi who
extra-judicial killings
is suffering down there. Currently, there is manipulation of the common
mwananchi through imposed high rate of taxation on the basic needs, without consideration that their wages remain stagnant/constant. The cost of living has gone high, increasing the financial constraints to the him/her, leading a life full of desperation and suffering, with the only word ‘HOPE’ for a better tomorrow, of which never dawns.