COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. (August 12, 2026) - This International Youth Day, children as young as nine are helping tackle one of their community’s most urgent challenges. A group of Kenyan children has developed a life-saving emergency alert system designed to help families respond to violent bandit attacks in one of the country's most vulnerable regions. Through a formal partnership between Compassion International in Kenya and PAWATECH Solutions, children ages 9 to 12 enrolled in the Coding and Robotics for Kids program created the Community SOS System, an innovative platform that enables households to instantly alert neighbors and authorities during security incidents.
This initiative is one example of how Compassion is equipping children and youth living in extreme poverty with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly digital world. Through partnerships that provide access to coding, robotics, artificial intelligence, and other STEM learning opportunities, Compassion is helping young people become creators, innovators, and problem-solvers in their own communities.
"This project taught me that coding is not just about computers. It is about protecting lives," said Sheila, a 12-year-old participant in the program. "My dream is to see every home equipped with this innovation so that every family can live without fear."
"I see [innovative] thinking, great exposure, thinking beyond borders and limitations on the side of the young people," adds Samuel Wambugu, national director for Compassion International in Kenya.
In the region where these children live, families often face insecurity due to cattle raids, violent attacks, and long distances between homes. Communication delays often result in loss of lives, destruction of property, and prolonged insecurity before security agencies can respond.
Students in the program began by identifying challenges facing their communities and then designing technology-based solutions. Inspired by experiences they had witnessed firsthand, the young innovators designed the Community SOS System. The system allows households to activate an emergency button that automatically sends SMS alerts to nearby residents, triggers warning notifications, and places voice calls to emergency responders with location information.
11-year-old Gideon said the experience changed how he sees technology and his own potential. "Knowing that our SMS alert system can notify neighbors within seconds makes me proud because it proves that children can create innovations that make communities safer. This experience has inspired me to become an engineer and continue building solutions that improve people's lives."
"This initiative to empower young people digitally is about more than education,” shares Lydia Sereya, a youth specialist for Compassion. “It is about equipping them for the future. We are creating pathways for our youth to thrive in a digital world, unlock new opportunities, and contribute meaningfully to their communities."
Through collaborations such as Code with Kids, participants are gaining invaluable experience for their futures. The early results in Kenya are impressive: the program has a 98% completion rate across all cohorts and, on average, graduates are earning an income within two months of program completion.