From a one-volunteer cleanup to 6,000 students

Team Illuminate has directly reached more than 6,000 students across 42 schools in 5 Nigerian states since it formally built its team in 2021. The work runs through workshops, campaigns, green career guidance, educational resources and youth leadership programmes. Its fellowship has supported 40 student leaders and given micro-grants to 12 student-led projects, which together have reached more than 1,000 more students.

Saviour Iwezue founded it. She names the University of Lagos as her school.

“That failure taught me a lesson that continues to shape my work today, that young people do not ignore environmental issues because they do not care; many simply lack the knowledge, connection, and support needed to take action.”

Saviour Iwezue

It began with a failure. As a child she lived with a health condition, and air pollution from open waste burning often triggered health challenges for her, she says. At 15 she decided to do something about it and organised a community cleanup. "But many of my peers mocked the idea, some found it embarrassing, and only one volunteer showed up," she says.

That lesson, she says, led her to found Team Illuminate, a youth-led organisation focused on environmental education in schools and the leadership capacity of young people. "We believe that when young people understand environmental challenges and see how they connect to their lives, they are far more likely to become solution-builders," she says.

Today the focus is the Green Education Program, a growing community of 200+ educators equipped to deliver environmental education to over 50,000 students in their classrooms.