Faith-Fueled Climate Action: Mwangaza Light's Holistic Approach to Energy Poverty and Environmental Stewardship

In this episode, we hear from Pauline Mwangi, the Deputy CEO of Mwangaza Light a dynamic faith-based social enterprise driving climate action since 2018 across multiple Kenyan counties.

Pauline illuminates their unique strategy of partnering with churches and mosques to embed climate solutions directly within religious communities.

She explains their vision to eradicate energy poverty by integrating climate action into existing faith structures through a powerful three-pronged approach: "Preach Green," "Going Green," and "Growing Green."

"Preach Green" involves training clergy in Eco-theology, empowering them to deliver sermons that connect spiritual teachings with environmental stewardship."Going Green" champions the adoption of clean cooking solutions and solar-powered backups within churches and households, directly reducing reliance on polluting biomass fuels and noisy generators. "Growing Green" actively advocates against deforestation, promoting sustainable alternatives like electric cooking to mitigate harmful emissions and preserve natural resources.

Pauline details the tangible benefits of their initiatives, emphasizing customer-friendly costs and flexible payment systems that make clean energy accessible.

She highlights the immense potential of faith networks as catalysts for societal change. She underscores patience as a crucial lesson in fostering behavior change, noting the positive shift in congregants' willingness to contribute to environmental conservation.

Pauline also identifies a significant opportunity for climate mitigation within church-affiliated institutions like schools and hospitals, which can transition from biomass to more efficient energy methods.

She addresses critical policy gaps, pointing out the ambitious yet currently unmet goals of Kenya's Clean Cooking Strategy 2020-2028, and calls for greater awareness and supportive policies to accelerate universal access to clean cooking.

Kibra's Green Guardians: A Nubian Youth Initiative Re-Greening Kibra for Climate Action

We hear from Khalid Munir Mohamed of the Salama Youth CBO, a passionate leader from Kibra's Nubian community. He shares the history of his forefathers, who were resettled in Kibra after fighting for the British in World War II, establishing a community largely of Nubian origin in what was once a lush forest.

Khalid narrates the transformation of Kibra, an Arabic name for "forest," from a leafy extension of Ngong Forest into an informal settlement, with its trees tragically wiped out, bordering the serene Karen suburb.

Kibra faces severe environmental challenges, including Nairobi River now tragically replaced by raw sewage and overwhelmed by garbage due to a lack of proper waste management. The Salama Youth CBO, is working to reverse this degradation through ambitious re-afforestation efforts and river clean-ups.

Khalid details their innovative climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. They collect organic waste from local kiosks, practice modern farming methods by utilizing greenhouses and hanging gardens to promote food security within the slum.

Their initiatives extend to dairy goat farming, rabbit keeping (valuable for manure and urine as plant nutrients), and crucially, bee-keeping. The bees, feeding on nectar from newly planted trees, contribute to pollination, creating a vital ecological and economic cycle.

Khalid stresses the importance of involving local residents, particularly the Nubian community, in government-led river clean-up efforts and highlights support from KEFRI, who have pledged bamboo for planting.

He admits the difficulty of relocating residents who have built along riverbeds, they conduct public forums to educate on the risks. Khalid passionately appeals for government and partner support for these crucial mitigation measures, urging everyone to cherish and protect our one Earth.

Beyond Kibera: How Community Action is Regenerating Rivers and Empowering Women

In this second part, Malassen Hamida, describes their use of vertical gardens to boost food security in urban areas.

She shares a fascinating technique of recycling grey water, including washing water, for farming, often with the addition of ash to further aid in this recycling process.

She also narrates their successful partnerships with various institutions. With higher learning institutions, they collaborate on research and innovating new climate adaptation techniques and raising awareness. They also partner with secondary and primary schools, planting trees within school grounds, aligning with the environmental studies found in the CBC curriculum for children. She mentions that they have planted fruit trees in various Nairobi County hospitals.

Hamida explains how these activities are changing perceptions of gender roles, with women moving beyond traditional kitchen roles to become key players in waste management through collection, sorting, and recycling.

She details their crucial partnership with the Nairobi River Commission to clean rivers and waterways. They aim to regenerate these vital resources and create new green spaces. This work also involves coordinating with communities living along riparian lands to prevent environmental catastrophes.

She acknowledges that existing environmental policies are generally adequate and align with international standards.

Hamida points out the availability of funding opportunities for environmental activities through organizations like Flocker and NEMA green funds, encouraging others to access these resources.