We are now taking you on a tour to the Kakuma refugee camp, located in Turkana County in northwest Kenya. Here, environmental degradation is a live-in reality to more than 300 thousand refugees and the host communities. But some organizations are helping young students who are divided into groups to learn the green skills needed to understand the effects of climate change and the environmental solutions that directly impact their daily lives. 60 schools in the Kakuma refugee camp are involved in the Green Youth 360 project, and in the following report, we’re going to tell you all about it.
The Kakuma refugee camp has been welcoming refugees every day for over 30 years. Today, it is home to over 300,000 refugees. Located in Turkana County, north-west Kenya, the camp is drastically affected by the consequences of climate change.
Most of the trees in the camp and around had been destroyed by members of the host community and refugees when they arrived. So, when people plant trees again, they are supplementing the government efforts of ensuring that we have a green environment.
Edwin CHABALI, Kakuma Refugee Camp Manager – Kenya
Faced with this alarming situation, a project has been developed to provide a sustainable solution to the problem of climate change. The aim is to teach young people aged between 15 and 24 everything they need to know about climate change, and what they can do about it, even at their young age.
One of the outcomes is to make sure that we equip youth with the knowledge around green skills, so that they can acquire values but also cognitive abilities to understand how their personal behavior affects the environment and the actions that they need to take. The second outcome was working with the youth in different climate action areas.
Dennis MUTISO, Executive Director of Girl Child Network – Kenya
Through the Green Youth 360 project, young students are divided into environmental groups and learn all about the environmental actions they can take to make a positive contribution to restoring and protecting the environment. In 60 schools at the Kakuma camp, students choose between tree-planting, green agriculture, renewable energy and clean environment groups.
When we came to Kakuma with our partners for the first time, some areas were really barren but now it’s more green, with more trees and gardens being almost in every space of the schools and that’s quite reassuring. Something else to be proud of is that these young people feel ownership of the project. They see the trees they have planted and the chair they have made and have that sense of pride in what they have done.
Tareq Al Bakri, Programs Specialist at Education Above All
At Kakuma Arid-Zone Junior High School, students and teachers alike are well aware of the role of trees around the school. As the name of the school suggests, Kakuma is located in a semi-arid region, and it’s very difficult to grow trees here. Despite a success rate of less than 50%, they don’t stop planting trees.
The school had no trees but with this program that we started in the year 2024, which means that what you see here is the result of only one year and half of hard work. As a school, we planted trees to change our environment. I know that to you when you see all this and think it’s just normal but it is a result of artwork of the learners, educators and parents. These trees have made this area to be more educationally conducive, friendly to learners and now a teacher can even have a lesson to distinguish an exotic tree from an indigenous one and the learner can see it physically without only imagining it.
Joseph EDUKON, Headteacher, Kakuma Arid-Zone Junior School – Kenya
At Blue State High School, the impact of planting trees and taking good care of them is clearly visible. Here, the difference between before the tree planting and after is nothing short of impressive. At this school, the students and their teachers had to get creative, and 60% of the trees planted survived and transformed the entire school landscape in record time.
When I first visited this school, the temperatures were too high and the land was too bare, there was no shade and no fresh air. As an initiative, we started tree planting to take care of the environment and also mitigate the effects of climate change. The trees were not enough and in 2022, the Green Youth Club joined us. The majority of our learners were through tree planting training and after that we were supplied with trees to be planted within the school compound. Afterwards, we decided to be creative because Kakuma is one of the places where water shortage is a big challenge. As a school, after planting the trees we were given by Green Youth 360, through the support of Education Above All, we decided to come up with our own initiative of creating our own water bank within the school so that we can ensure that we utilize the little amount of water we have in the school. And we also shared responsibilities with our learners whereby they could know that it is the activity to plant a tree but also water it. After gaining the knowledge of renewable energy and recycling, we decided to recycle the containers the learners get when receiving their food ratios, so we could use them as the watering cans within this school. Put in mind that we had created our waterbank within the school. So, once the learners get to school in the morning, the first thing they do is to water the trees.
Rachel KIBET, Headteacher, Blue State Secondary School- Kenya
At Life Works Tumaine Girls High School, a group of girls are busy mixing clay during recess. Mixed with other ingredients such as paper, the clay helps to make briquettes to replace charcoal that is widely used for cooking in the camp. Next to them, some other girls use clay to make energy saving stoves. They are all members of a Youth in Renewable energy and Clean Environment group, part of the Green Youth 360 project.
After molding it that way, we leave it for a day to dry in a cool place. It is better used with briquettes so as to conserve heat. It also prevents pollution, it helps in preventing cutting down of trees because it does not need to use firewood. It releases up to less than 50 to 70% of fuel, which helps in conserving the environment and it releases less CO2 and black carbon which depletes the ozone layer.
Sammiah PHILIP, Member of Youth in Clean Environment Group- South Sudan
Back at Kakuma Arid-Zone Junior High School, we meet up with Victor Namuya, who is part of the green agriculture group. Their main activity at the moment is the apiary and everything to do with their beekeeping project.
Me and my group doing what we are doing, we want to change our lives for the better. In our communities, people don’t really know the importance of bees. In fact, there’s a rumour that bees are dangerous but we want to be examples of cane in the community and show that actually, one can live off of apiculture. We know it’s an activity that can generate revenues if you have a lot of beehives that are colonized to give the continuous supply of honey.
Victor NAMUYA, Member Youth in Green Agriculture Group – Kenya
In all the schools, another group also deals with waste management. Another makes chairs using an invasive tree locally known as mathenge. Prosopis juliflora or mathenge is hated by many locals in Turkana County due to its invasiveness and its thorns that are harsh to humans and can cause injuries to livestock. Locals say rivers and dams dry fast in areas with mathenge, and it dominates other plants.
Mathenge is a very dangerous tree species that kills other trees because it consumes a lot of water. If we had let it around these trees, they wouldn’t grow. But at the same time, we are not only seeing the negative side of mathenge as we came up with a creative idea of making chairs out of the cut mathenge. You have seen them in classrooms, offices and dining halls. So, as much as we talk about te negativity of mathenge, it also as its importance.
Josep EDUKON, Headteacher, Kakuma Arid-Zone Junior School- Kenya
Actually this project complements our competence based curriculum in Kenya. Initially, our education system was more theory and was not competence based. The project activities align with our competence based curriculum because our current system is purely about competence and skills.
Dennis MUTISO, Executive Director of Girl Child Network
With the climate crisis taking its toll on refugees, there is an urgent need to step up environmental education efforts. In just a few years of such interventions in 60 schools, the results speak for themselves, but these efforts must be continued with greater involvement of the host community. The Kakuma camp proves that even in adversity, the future can be full of hope.
