There is an urgent and significant need to actively involve learners at all levels in the national climate agenda, ensuring they are informed and empowered to contribute to shaping sustainable solutions for the future.
Experts emphasize that children are not merely passive observers of climate change—they are among its most vulnerable and disproportionately affected victims, bearing the brunt of environmental disasters that threaten their health, education, and future.
The devastating drought that gripped Kenya until April 2023, the worst in 40 years, starkly exposed the environment’s fragility. It ravaged livelihoods, left families struggling to access water, and forced schools to close.
According to First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto, climate change is not an abstract issue but an everyday reality, especially for the 18 million learners in the country, who must be central to planning and the national agenda to ensure a sustainable future.
“These realities hit our children the hardest, especially in Kenya’s vast arid and semi-arid regions. And yet, despite their vulnerability, children understand these challenges in ways we sometimes overlook,” noted Ms Elizabeth Koskei, the CEO of Mama Doing Good.
Mama Doing Good is an initiative founded by Mama Rachel Ruto, dedicated to catalyzing socio-economic transformation by empowering communities, promoting sustainable livelihoods, and fostering long-term positive change.
Ms Koskei was speaking during the First Lady’s Mazingira Awards (FLAMA) media breakfast meeting in Nairobi ahead of the first-ever First Lady Mazingira Awards ceremony on October 10 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) Amphitheatre, as part of the National Mazingira Day celebrations.
The annual national challenge provides a platform for the recognition and appreciation of young people making significant contributions to addressing climate change through creative expression among Kenya’s learners.
Principal Secretary of the State Department for Environment and Climate Change, Dr Festus Ng’eno, stated that FLAMA offers a unique platform for young learners—the future of our nation—to express their creativity and solutions for pressing environmental and climate challenges.
“Our recently launched National Climate Change Action Plan 2023-2027 dedicates a chapter to children and young people, underscoring the importance of empowering them to engage in both national and local climate initiatives actively,” he stated.
He said the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry has taken a proactive approach in fostering a supportive and conducive environment that encourages and enables children to actively participate in climate action initiatives.
In particular, he highlighted the newly launched Children’s Climate and Disaster Risk Model, which puts children at the centre of climate action and disaster risk reduction by showing how they and their communities are vulnerable to climate impacts in each county.
The Ministry of Education recognized that young people when properly educated and empowered, have the potential to be excellent environmental stewards, powerful agents of climate change action, and ambassadors for ecological restoration.
“We are proud to be part of this initiative. Learners in basic education institutions have the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the national goal of planting 15 billion trees over the next 10 years,” noted Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Dr. Belio R. Kipsang.
He said the First Lady’s fruit tree-growing initiative, dubbed “Mama Fruit Garden,” inspires learners to become environmental stewards and climate change champions through fruit tree planting, and it should be replicated in 4K Clubs and other school programs.
NCBA Group Plc said it would continue supporting the First Lady’s initiatives, especially those that promote active involvement in creating a culture of excellence in environmental conservation and climate action.
“This initiative aligns with NCBA’s commitment to planting 10 million trees by 2030. I believe that we will further collaborate in our support of this cause. We have established a forest in Kitui, where 40,000 seedlings were planted late last year,” noted the group’s Managing Director, Mr John Gachora.
He said that by adopting this approach, partners seek to spark a collective movement among young people, propelling them towards a sustainable future and equipping them to confront the challenges presented by climate change.
