The opportunities, skills, and atmosphere offered in a positive youth development program can lead to better health, social, and educational outcomes. Young people need skills on how to manage their sexual feelings and make responsible decisions about their health, exposure to drugs, personal goal setting and friendship formation. The youth are so good in making virtual friends but very poor in maintaining physical friends. Digital evolution coupled with fast internet has exposed the youth to many vices with little or no parental guidance. Social media addiction is a common phenomenon driving young people into committing suicides.

Some of the life skills the adolescents and youth are trained on are;

• Assertiveness
• Self-awareness
• Dealing with addictions: social media, online games, betting, drugs, sex
• Sexual reproductive health
• Coping with frustration and stress
• Parent- teen communication
• Embracing the technological world

There is a shift in traditional form of science based careers to art based careers. Some of the new emerging careers in the fields of information technology,art,fashion and music,pyscohology,security,sports just to mention a few. Youths need to align themselves with the current trends through seeking mentorship on career path they want to take.

Topics under this training session are:

• Self-assessment through SWOT analysis
• Career wheel
• College life transition
• Emergin careers
• Getting the right mentor
• Volunteerism and Internship

Young people are taking drugs as early as 9 years with majority being introduced into drugs in school. The environment has exposed the young people to drugs as they are easily available. Other risk factors that have predisposed the young people to drugs are; bad role models, catchy advertisements, peer pressure and seeking adventure. Alcohol is the leading source of drug abuse among the youth with bhang coming second. Drug abuse among the youth has also been attributed to increase in HIV infections among the youth, rise in suicide levels, early pregnancies and poor academic performance.

Sessions covered under drug abuse are:

• Naurobiology of drug addiction
• HIV and drug abuse
• Impacts of drug addiction
• Addiction counseling

Kenya is 4th in terms of HIV infections among the adolescents in the world.51% of HIV new infections in the country is from the adolescents girls.Non-Communicable diseases account is now a leading cause of death among the youth.63% of the disease burden in the country are lifestyle diseases. Close to 500,000 abortions are done in the country annually majority of those are done by the youth. Teenage pregnancies are an alarming issue in the country.

Sessions covered under adolescent sexual health

• HIV and the youth
• Lifestyle disease
• Body mapping
• Personal grooming
• Human sexuality

Other training programs offered by Counseling Haven tailored for the youth programs are:

• Decent conversations
• Healthy relationship
• Leadership and coaching
• Embracing the digital world
• Stress management
• Motivation talks
• Fun day