Newly created Lumos Kenya Youth Advisory Board to transform the future of care
24.03.2026
Pictured: Lumos Kenya Youth Advisory Board members at a meeting in December 2025.
Lumos Kenya has launched 2026 with a committed Youth Advisory Board of young leaders passionate about children’s rights and care reform, playing an important role in shaping child protection across the country this year.
At the latest meeting of the Board in December 2025, the children and young people, aged between 14 and 24 years, came together to strengthen the team’s bond, build leadership and communication skills and elect Youth Advisory Board Kenya leaders.
Over the two days, the group also learned more about Lumos’ work in Kenya and globally, leadership and decision-making, communication and self-advocacy and conflict resolution.
Many participants spoke about how the experience boosted their confidence.
I have learned that as YAB members, we must learn more about children’s rights, communicate better and show confidence in what we stand for.
-Rosemary, Lumos Kenya Youth Advocate Board Member.
Joshua, another Lumos Kenya Youth Advocate Board Member added, “This training has helped me to understand that my voice matters and can make a difference in my community.”
The discussions revealed the Youth Advisory Board’s deep awareness of the challenges affecting children and families in their local communities, including substance abuse, domestic violence, poverty and family separation.
Children should not be put in institutions just because their parents are poor. My dream is to become a voice for children and create awareness about how these issues are affecting children in my community.
-Shazie, Lumos Kenya Youth Advocate Board Member.
A major highlight of the meeting was the leadership elections for the Board. Candidates confidently shared a two-minute speech stating why they were interested and suited for different roles. This process led to the election of six leaders with equal gender representation.
To formalise their commitment, all Youth Advisory Board members signed a working agreement, pledging to protect and promote the wellbeing of children and young people. They also agreed to keep practicing public speaking in schools, churches and other forums to strengthen their confidence and advocacy skills.
The first meeting of the Lumos Kenya Youth Advisory Board occurred in August 2025, in collaboration with the County Government of Embu, involving 22 young people from six sub-counties.
We’re looking forward to the expertise of the Kenya Youth Advisory Board informing our work, and influencing the country’s care reform roll-out to help realise every child’s right to a family, and we will continue to champion their meaningful participation at all levels.
-Lucy Halton, Lumos Head of Programmes (Advocacy and Participation of People with Lived Experience).
The next meeting of the Youth Advisory Board Kenya will be in April 2026.
Lumos history of involving young people
Lumos created Youth Advisory Boards in 2017 to make sure young people with lived experience of the care and protection system can influence our work. Members have helped shape strategies, policies, and advocacy. Active in every country where Lumos works, the Boards ensure that children’s voices directly influence how care systems are designed and reformed.
Lumos Kenya first began engaging children and young people in Embu County back in 2023, in line with Kenya’s National Care Reform Strategy (2022–2032), which emphasises the importance of including their voices and perspectives in the care reform process, and Lumos’ organisational commitment to ensuring the participation of people with lived experience at all levels of our work.
Since then, young people in Embu have taken part in shaping key initiatives, from the creation of the child-friendly court, to holding discussions on violence against children, and sharing their views on transitioning children from institutional to family-based care and community services.
