A youth-led non-profit handling Kisumu's organic and medical waste

In Kisumu, GIST Kenya runs community programs on sustainable waste management that promote circular economy approaches. Through them, Emmanuel Kiyaka says, the organisation has improved coordination within the county systems and safely managed tons of organic and medical waste. Those programs have found support, he says, and the fundraising continues.

He is the founder. Green Interventions for Sustainable Towns (GIST) Kenya is a youth-led non-profit based in Kenya, which he describes as "championing climate justice and community health equity".

“The work will be demanding, but the journey will always be rewarding, keep building.”

Emmanuel Kiyaka

It starts with his own age. "As a young person from Kisumu, Kenya, I have been able to experience first hand exclusion," he says, and the exclusion he means is based on age. Young people, he says, have been viewed merely as beneficiaries and victims rather than qualified leaders with the capacity to drive change. Their involvement has been symbolic, he says, driven by tokenism, and they have been excluded from the places where decisions are made on the things that matter to them.

"I believe we are more than that and that we deserve meaningful roles that place us at the center of design, implementation and evaluation of solutions to the challenges that primarily affect us and our communities," he says.

For now the priority is keeping the community programs going while the organisation continues to fundraise.