Nairobi — Ever wondered what the young generation think about life? If you are over 30, then the hundreds of youth from more than 70 countries who came together at the International Youth Fellowship World camp at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre have something for you.

The fellowship hosted the event from August 17 to August 22, as it does each year for students to get skills not offered at school, such as spiritual, emotional, intellectual and even physical training.

Activities include Bible seminars, tourism and culture lectures by notable speakers.

Those who attended the fellowship were high school and college students and graduates. The Nation spoke to some of them.

Susan Okonji, 21, Kenya, pharmacy student at the Kenya Medical Training College

I grew up in Huruma estate.

Growing up in Eastlands is difficult. From 10am, gangs of idle young men gathered to play pool. Drug and abuse was common, as was Aids.

I used to hear about Aids, but thought that it was just like malaria. But when a friend died, reality hit me.

Mike Mboya, 24, Kenya, pharmacy graduate, KMTC

The violence after last year's General Election will always haunt me.

I'm still unhappy with the older generation for fuelling the tribal hatred that was picked up by the younger generation earlier in the year.

I've grown up in Huruma. I went to school with students from other ethnic groups. We ate, laughed and played football together. We never thought about ethnicity. I'm a Luo and my girlfriend is a Kikuyu.

It's not easy being a youth in Kenya. I remember when I was looking for a house. In most places I visited, the landlords wanted tenants with a family.

I've lost six friends to crime. Police gunned them down. If we're going to lose peers at this rate, we'll be dead by 40.

Vitae Nyasuli, 21, Malawi, forestry student, Mzuzu University

There is this wonderful feeling when you're young. You've all the time and you're energetic. I don't think life would be exciting for me at 50, when I miss many things, including my youthful face.

As a child, I loved playing football, but my mother wanted me to concentrate on schoolwork. Of course, I lost interest in football afterwards.

Many presidents are power-hungry; they just want to enrich themselves, be in power forever.

Alexina Nelima, 23, Kenya

The youth in Kenya have been taken for granted. There is a group, above 35, that considers itself youthful, which is not fair. When you look at the newspapers, employers insist on people who have at least five years experience for certain jobs.

If you look at the recent schools strikes, the immediate response was that the cane should be re-introduced in school. I think that is torture.

Hannah Jang, 23, South Korea, English student at Kyung-buk National University

I grew up in a town called Daegu. The life of a youth there is not as fast as in other parts of the world.

Unemployment is also rampant in my country. But the problem with the youth is that we want white-collar jobs. We don't value blue-collar jobs, yet the reality is that you have to start from somewhere.

Juliet Namukasa, 22, Uganda, procurement graduate, Makerere University.

If 30 more years were to be added to my 22, I would not be among the happiest people in this world. Although an age like 50 carries with it respect, being a youth is good.

There is a generation gap between the old and the young. When you want to go out, your parents think you're going to see a man. I wouldn't like being around the elderly because they are not flexible in their beliefs and what they think about the youth.

Richard Boaz, 24, Tanzania, insurance student, Institute of Finance Management, Dar es Salaam

I was promiscuous, but I changed my life and I became born again. I loved girls so much! That is the excitement that most young men find themselves in.

In Africa, there is poor governance. An example is Zimbabwe. Tell me, how do the youths of Zimbabwe feel? Don't they feel like they don't have a future?