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Biodiversity Protection and Conservation Efforts Are Failing to Deliver Opportunities for Youth as Corruption and Mismanagement of Public Resources Continue to Strangle Green Enterprises

Kenya has made significant commitments towards environmental conservation, biodiversity protection and the restoration of degraded ecosystems. Across the country, government agencies, development partners, communities and private enterprises are investing in tree growing, landscape restoration, climate adaptation and other green economy initiatives. These efforts should be creating opportunities for young people, particularly those living in rural communities where environmental degradation directly affects livelihoods. Unfortunately, the reality is that the growth of youth-led green enterprises continues to face significant obstacles, many of which are rooted in corruption, poor public resource management and the failure of government institutions to honour commitments made to local enterprises. Recent World Bank analysis on corruption and public sector efficiency in Kenya has brought renewed attention to the economic cost of corruption and the opportunities the country stands to unlo...
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World Youth Skills Day 2026: Skills Create Jobs, Jobs Create Decent Livelihoods—But Only If We Get Skills Development Right

Every year, World Youth Skills Day reminds us of a simple but powerful truth: the future of any nation depends not only on educating young people, but on equipping them with practical skills that lead to meaningful employment, entrepreneurship, and dignified livelihoods. This year's message— "Skills Create Jobs, Jobs Create Decent Livelihoods" —is particularly relevant in Kenya, where thousands of young people continue to navigate unemployment despite possessing immense potential. Skills development is no longer just a social intervention; it is an economic necessity. Against this backdrop, one of the Government of Kenya's most ambitious youth empowerment initiatives deserves recognition: the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Programme , particularly its On-the-Job Experience (OJE) component, supported by the World Bank. The programme is innovative in design. It attempts to bridge the long-standing gap between classroom learning and workplace ...
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Young Leader Spotlight: Mariam Muhatia Luyali – Choosing Purpose Over Noise

On a day when social media timelines are flooded with memories, emotions, debates, and reflections marking two years since the June 25th, 2024 protests in Kenya, many young people are finding themselves drawn into conversations about the country's past, present, and future. Yet in Shiru, Vihiga County, one young woman is spending her day differently. While many are engaged in national discourse, Mariam Muhatia Luyali is focused on something she believes is equally important—showing up consistently for her community, her faith, and her personal growth. When we asked Mariam what her plans for the day were, her response was simple and direct. "I will be attending to my salon business and later in the evening I will join fellow young people at church for our Youth Week program." No grand declarations. No dramatic statements. Just the steady commitment of a young leader who understands that change is often built through daily action rather than occasional noise. For Mariam, le...
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THOU SHALL NOT!

 A Monday Inspiration Reflection on Opportunity, Leadership and Breaking Invisible Chains On 20th June 2026, more than seventy African and Caribbean leaders gathered in Accra, Ghana, to continue a conversation that has echoed across generations: reparations for colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. It was a significant gathering, discussing some of the deepest injustices ever imposed on humanity. On that same day, thousands of kilometers away, I found myself involved in what many would consider a far less important activity in rural Vihiga County. A school football match. Yet as I watched Mbale Boys High School battle their way to the Western Regional Finals, I could not help but see a connection between these seemingly unrelated events. Both were ultimately about opportunity. Both were about what happens when people are allowed to dream beyond the limits that others have set for them. Both were about challenging what I call the "Thou Shall Not" system. The Unwritten...
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From the Classroom to Community Leadership: The Story of Brenda Odondi

 In many villages across Vihiga County, leadership often begins long before one occupies a public office. It starts in classrooms, community meetings, student gatherings, and in the quiet decision to serve others before oneself. For Brenda Odondi , a young woman from Wodanga Ward in Sabatia Constituency, leadership has never been about titles. It has always been about responsibility, service, and creating opportunities for fellow young people. Currently pursuing a course in Information Technology, Brenda represents a new generation of leaders who understand that the future will be shaped not only by technology but also by the people who are willing to use it to solve community challenges. Growing up in Wodanga, Brenda witnessed the immense potential that exists among young people. She also saw the barriers that often prevent youth from fully participating in decision-making processes that directly affect their lives. Rather than accepting these challenges as permanent realities, sh...
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Vincent Mwanje: The Quiet Fire Rising in North East Bunyore

  At first glance, you may not immediately recognize the ambitions carried by Vincent Mwanje. You are more likely to find him dressed in gumboots and overalls than in polished political attire. His days are often spent tending poultry birds with patience, inspecting vegetable seedlings with precision, or working on maize farms where he applies modern climate-smart techniques such as minimum tillage. To many, he appears like an ordinary young farmer committed to the soil. But beneath that calm and practical exterior is a bold, fearless, and deeply purposeful young leader steadily building a name across North East Bunyore. Vincent Mwanje belongs to a growing generation of youth leaders who understand that leadership is not built through noise, but through consistent action. While many speak about transformation, he has chosen to live it daily through enterprise, service, mentorship, and community engagement. Agriculture is not merely an economic activity for him. It is a statement of...
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Quit the Fossil Fuel Noise, Buy Electric!

The silence of an electric motorbike is a strange thing to experience on a red murram road deep in the village. There is no growl of an engine, no puff of black smoke scattering chickens, just the low hum of a motor and the crunch of tires on stone. When I first rode one in rural Kenya, the thing that struck me wasn't the technology—it was the economics. The young man who owned it wasn't an environmental activist. He was a boda boda rider who had simply calculated that spending KSh 275 on a full charge was better than spending KSh 400 on fuel that wouldn't even take him half the distance . He wasn't trying to save the planet; he was trying to save his livelihood. This is the conversation we should be having about fossil fuel dependence in Kenya. Not an abstract debate about global climate agreements, but a brutally honest look at our national priorities. Every shilling we spend importing petroleum is a shilling not spent on our own energy infrastructure—and the data pai...
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