Graduation Day in Kakuma: What Cohorts IV & V Show About Scaling Digital Livelihoods in Kakuma

On 11th December 2025, Cohorts IV and V of the Creative Gateway Program in Kakuma celebrated their graduation.

After our 6-month intensive 3D modelling course that equipped the learners with marketable digital skills, opening doors to freelancing, online work, and income opportunities from anywhere in the world, the ceremony closed one chapter of training.

But graduation wasn’t the finish line. It was the first visible sign that something different is now within reach.

In attendance were family members, Friends, community leaders, representatives from the Creative Gateway Program, partners, and supporters who understood what this moment meant here, all gathered in Kakuma to celebrate not abstract potential, not future plans, but real skills, real work, real earning potential.

What happens when Youth in Kakuma stop asking for permission to dream?

Something shifts.

Graduands start speaking confidently about freelancing, clients, income—not “hopes.”

They stop waiting to be chosen. Stop shrinking their goals to fit the room. Dreams stop sounding like wishes.

They sound like plans.

You hear it in the language; graduands speaking confidently about freelancing, clients, income—not “hopes.” Their language changes: from “I’m waiting” to “I’m working toward…”

By the time graduation rolls around, this is already the attitude our graduates carry, and this level of confidence is exactly what signals their employability. By the time graduation rolls around, our graduates aren’t hoping for work. They’re moving toward it.

Parents, Pride, and Proof: Why families matter in this story

Sustainable livelihoods don’t exist in isolation. Family buy-in matters. The ceremony marked an important milestone for the parents and guardians of our 3D modelling students in attendance, as they witnessed a kind of progress they had rarely seen.

Imagine what it means to hear your child talk about earning in euros- instead of waiting for aid.

For many parents and guardians in Kakuma, this graduation marked a rare moment of recalibration. Not just pride, but relief. The realisation that their children were no longer stuck in the same cycle of waiting and improvising—but stepping into something tangible, measurable, and real.

This is why graduation mattered.

Not because certificates were handed out.

But because, for the first time, families could see a future that wasn’t built on hope alone—but on skills, work, and the ability to earn.

Cohorts IV & V graduating together revealed scale pressure

Cohorts IV and V graduating together made one thing impossible to ignore.

Pressure.

Not the bad kind. The kind that comes from things working. Success attracts attention, and stories travel fast in Kakuma.

When graduates start freelancing. When income shows up in real ways, When families see proof; others want in. And they should.

But scale changes everything. Because More graduates means we need:

• More laptops in circulation.

• More mentorship hours.

• More project reviews.

• More follow-up once training ends.

• Mentors stretched thin.

• Talented graduates competing for limited starter projects.

Our most recent Graduation Day exposed both sides at once. On one hand, proof that the Creative Gateway Program works. On the other hand, the limits of what’s currently possible.

Demand for our 3D modelling training is growing faster than resources. And something always gives when that happens:

If laptops and space don’t scale, practice time shrinks. If mentorship doesn’t scale, confidence stalls. If real projects don’t scale, skills sit idle.

Our program continues to grow. The question is whether the support around it can grow, too?

Cohorts IV and V graduating together prove one thing clearly. The program is growing. The question now isn’t does this work? That’s been answered - repeatedly. The real question is whether the support around it can keep up.

And this is where we’re speaking directly to you.

To those watching closely, waiting to see if this is real.

It is.

Because young people are earning and their families are already seeing change they can measure.

To our partners — thank you! Your support LWF Kenya Somalia, Act Svenska kyrkan, ALWS and UNHCR KENYA made this possible! You’ve seen the outcomes. You’ve met the graduates. You’ve watched skills turn into income. Now the work is about keeping that momentum intact.

We’re also seeking new partnerships that match the pace of the program. Because growth without backing creates bottlenecks. And bottlenecks slow momentum.

To new partners, this is your invitation in — not at the beginning, but at a point where the evidence is already on the table.

If you want to be part of this — not as a spectator, but as a contributor — let’s talk.

Email our Project Lead, Vincent: vincent@ambitiousafrica.org

Have questions about the program?

Reach out through the Creative Gateway Contact Page.

Text by Freddie Ngunju