Sisters 4 Change – Project Update

Sisters 4 Change, spent the first month of their Environmental Education for Female Youth project compiling their work plan, making concrete partnerships with local schools and making the needed plans for transportation around the archipelago. 

In December, Sisters 4 Change kickstarted their environmental awareness and education project in Pate Island. In December, the group targeted school clubs and community groups to discuss environmental and conservation issues. Sisters 4 Change visited Rasini, Kizingitini, Mbwajumwali and Tchundwa in Pate Island. 

The group engaged with 180+ individuals where an open discussion was facilitated to allow for community feedback and suggestions as to how environmental degradation can be managed. 

In January, Sisters 4 Change commenced with the next stage of their project, running community clean up days. Cleanups were conducted in Rasini, Kizingitini, Mbwajumwali and Tchundwa. At each of the cleanups, a community leader was present to show overall support for environmental efforts. Other groups have also been involved with the completion of the cleanup, including Faza Youth Action Group (a recent grantee from LEF), as Sisters 4 Change has suggested this kind of joint participation has strengthened the impact of the project. 

Through the 4 clean-ups, approximately 125 youth were engaged in collections, while 640kg of waste plastic were collected. The youth that took part were interviewed to understand if they knew the importance of the clean-up and all agreed that more must be done to tackle plastic pollution. 

A large positive from the community clean-ups have been that religious leaders have identified the need to integrate environmental impact and conservation into their teachings.  

The project was due to run for 6 months, however, due to changes in the school calendar, it can be expected to run over that time frame – at no extra cost – so that the group can work around school activities.