Kenya

A group of young activists in the Kayole-Soweto informal settlement in Kenya made the decision to take matters into their own hands after becoming increasingly concerned about the problem of plastic pollution, issues with waste and sanitation management, and limited access to safe and healthy water in their community. They established WAHENGA Youth; in Swahili, the word “Wahengya,” which means “ancestor,” is a nod to the revolutionary heritage of the country. Since its founding in 2018, the group has been working on issues like the climate crisis, social justice, and human rights that affect their neighborhood and Africa as a whole.

Organization: WAHENGA Youth

WAHENGA Youth is the umbrella organization of 20 different youth organizations in Nairobi. The group is active in protest actions and maximizes arts, music, and sports to highlight the intersections between the climate crisis, socio-economic ills, and injustice in the form of human rights violations. Under its wing, WAHENGA Youth mobilizes 100–300 warm bodies to assert their demands on the pressing issues of their community, like access to clean and safe water.