Growing up on the shores of Lake Victoria, I saw the impacts of climate change firsthand. Driven by my love for the lake and my community, I embarked on a journey to combat environmental degradation. Now, through education, sustainable agriculture, and eco-friendly initiatives, I am working to restore the natural beauty and resilience of our ecosystem while empowering the next generation to be environmental stewards.
Narratives of Change: Breathing Change
At nine, Leena Joshi was struck by the harsh contrast between polluted Delhi and the clear skies of Switzerland. By fourteen, witnessing plastic waste on a beach ignited her passion for climate action. Now the founder of Climate Conservancy, Leena leads an international youth movement advocating for climate education. With 9,000 young people in 60+ countries, her mission is to create systematic change, ensuring a healthier planet for all.
Narratives of Change: Saving millions of Trees from an Axe in Kiryandongo, Uganda
"How using electricity to cook could save millions of trees from an Axe " is a non fiction story. It is a story based on the reality that is facing people in Kiryandongo currently. It about how we can tap Uganda's growing electricity capacity to mitigate climate change that is facing the residents of my village kinyara I and kiryandongo at large. It is about how fast climate change is happening in my village and the challenges it presents inform of loss of trees to charcoal and firewood. Charcoal and fire are our energy for cooking in this part of the world. This story is also about how residents in my village are not able to access Charcoal and firewood again due to depletion. This story also delves into how residents could tap into Uganda's huge electricity to change the narrative.
Community Managed Natural Regeneration
CMNR is a low-cost, rapid and easily replicated approach to restoring and improving degraded lands. It is based on the systematic regrowth of existing trees or self-sworn seeds. It is managed and practised by a pastoralist community who have no knowledge of farming or agricultural practices. And is done on deforested areas and on lands that don't have fertile soil, a land that is majorly colonised with sand soil. It focuses on how a simple act of thinning and pruning can release the untapped energy of underground roots. It has increased the supply of a range of products like fodder and firewood and also has improved the communities livelihood by adopting other sources of income.
Surviving the Environment Arena and Beyond: Maasai Mara Reserve
New reforms to education in Africa are transforming learning opportunities for the continent's youth, but learners still lack access to relevant skills that will help them secure employment opportunities. What can be done? I am passionate about science, one of the things about science that drew me to it is the fact it's about the discovery of knowledge. I believe that Africa, and especially Kenya, has all the resources that it needs to keep its people healthy, yet people are not enjoying the best health. One way that I believe I can solve that problem is by researching medicinal plants because I believe we have those resources we just need to find out the compounds in plants that we can utilize to keep ourselves healthy. Everything that we need to be healthy is provided to us by nature, we just have to tap through research and also by educating people on how to apply those principles and knowledge that we learned from research into being healthy. I envision a world where there is equality, quality education, improved health services for all, and good, effective and transformative leaders.