A section of youth in Kayole vows to fight climate change at all costs

The recent report on what millennials and generation Z reveals that youths are looking for how to make money and a lot more extreme aspects.

 This is however is not the case for one Ramadhan Abdul who has chosen a path that is a complete departure from what ordinarily would be associated with the youth, mitigation of climate change. Ramadhan who is currently the arrowhead of an Initiative dubbed Let’s Go Green is obsessed with mitigation of the ravaging effects of climate change that is threatening to change the discourse of the existence of mankind.

We catch up with him in the sub-urban residences of Nairobi, Kayole, a place that is arguably known for crime and gang violence. Ramadhan and his team vows to stop at nothing in reversing climate change. He is a champion of planting trees, a journey he started at the heights of covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Its admirable to imagine that this self-help group has planted ten thousand trees in Nairobi and Kajiado. It’s even more unbelievable that at the heights of the tough economic times, the team sources money from themselves to source the trees from Mount Kenya region.

“Right now the international community are all fighting climate change. We have decided to volunteer in the fight against climate change catastrophe and have also helped a lot of jobless youths in Kayole shun crime,“ said a visibly high-spirited Ramadhan.

 Abdul who graduated with bachelor in computer science says his motivation to be a climate change crusader was inspired by the fact that his backyard Kayole has been facing climate change in a unique way. The Nairobi River which snakes through Kayole has in it all sorts of waste products flowing through it. One would mistake it for a constant flowing sewage, it’s a sorry situation.

Ramadhan further observes that the high rate of crime in Kayole informed his consciousness to come up with an initiative that would make the youths busy and shun crime and drugs. “If we create more awareness in our neighborhood, the youth will come. Most of the youth in Kayole get refuge here,“ he said.

The group which currently has close to one hundred members have planted seedlings in several parts of the city including Agha Khan walk as well as the famous Central Park in Nairobi CBD. They are calling on the government to support the youth especially those who are at the forefront of reversing climate change effects.

Ramadhan Abdul and his team are also involved in the clean up of the Nairobi River. They have further called on Nairobi County to pass stringent rules that will seek to pose hefty penalties on those who pollute Nairobi River.