On the edge of a parched village in Kajiado, sixteen-year-old Susan Nakimoru watched her family’s herd die, and her future shrink as she was told she must marry to survive the drought.
Her story is not an isolated case. Across Kenya, over 9 million children face severe
#drought and water scarcity, while more than 2 million learners had their education disrupted by
#climatedisasters in 2024 alone.
In a single year, one side of the country baked under drought, while the other drowned in floods, displacing over 500,000 people and destroying schools, roads, and health facilities.
These numbers are lived realities of girls, boys, and young people forced to navigate a
#climatecrisis that deepens inequality and shifts futures.
Yet amidst the hardship, solutions are emerging from the very communities affected. Susan did not have a choice—her voice was unheard, and obeying was the only path left to protect her family.
But how do we address these crises—droughts, early marriages, disrupted education, and collapsing livelihoods, so that no child has to pay for circumstances they did not create?
The knowledge is with us, and so is the energy.
The future is being built, slowly but surely, by the same people our systems have been failing. What is missing is a single, unified, impossible-to-ignore voice that carries all of this into the rooms where decisions are made.
That is why we are co-creating a
#YouthManifesto—a blueprint for action that must carry Susan’s story, and yours. Your story, your insight, your experience matters. Whether you are in Marsabit, Mombasa, Kisii, or Baringo, your voice can help shape the demands, priorities, and solutions that this manifesto will carry into the rooms of power.
Read Susan’s story here -
oayouthkenya.org/blogpost.ph…
Add your voice here -
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…
#ClimateJustice #YouthVoices #SustainableKenya #ClimateAction #EndChildMarriage #GenderEquality #ResilientCommunities #YouthLeadership