Friends of River Ezava-Forezava

Building a startup is, in many ways, an ongoing experiment in vision, resilience, and people. For me, this year has been particularly defining when it comes to onboarding team members who can help propel our work forward. After a difficult false start the previous year, I resumed the journey with renewed optimism—issuing a structured call for applications, conducting well-documented interviews, and believing that this time things would fall into place. But standing at the end of the year, I carry a sober appreciation of just how complex hiring can be, especially in early-stage, impact-driven enterprises. While it is convenient to blame external shocks—like the unexpected turbulence that followed USAID cancellations—the truth is that much of the responsibility lies with me. Managing people is a skill one acquires gradually: through conversations, through experience, and through learning to see beyond the polished ambitions that accompany any opportunity. We onboarded five volunteer team...

There is excitement all over — phones are lighting up, M-PESA messages are pinging, and status updates are changing faster than you can say serikali imekumbuka vijana! The government has finally remembered the youth, or so it seems. Earlier today, many young people across country received a rather celebratory text: Confirmed. You have received Ksh22,000.00 from NYOTA BUSINESS SUPPORT on 7/11/25 at 12:16 PM. A Friday afternoon drop, just in time for the weekend. The timing alone feels almost poetic — as if the message was whispering, "Wasee mnaeza jibamba sasa juu ni wikendi!" And you can’t blame anyone for that kind of joy; after all, times are tough, and 22,000 shillings can momentarily feel like salvation. But beyond the excitement lies a deeper story — one that mirrors past efforts like MBELE NA BIZ (2019) and exposes familiar cracks in the system of youth enterprise development in Kenya. The Irony of Friday Blessings The NYOTA Business Support program, backed by the Worl...

In recent years, we’ve seen a growing wave of events around the world where people come together under the banner of “sports for climate action.” From marathons to football tournaments and even indoor games — all carrying slogans of sustainability, planting symbolic trees, and advocating for environmental awareness. These efforts are exciting, yes, but one can’t help but ask: Do they really get to the root of the issue? Are they driven by a genuine desire to solve the climate crisis, or do they simply serve as quick bursts of media attention — beautiful photos, hashtags, and applause, followed by silence once the cameras go off? At Forezava , when we launched Sports4Ezava , we wanted to do something different — something that would last beyond the photo opportunities and celebrity tweets. Our goal was clear: to mobilize youth engagement in climate action through sports , while nurturing community ownership and lasting impact. A Different Kind of Energy Our model is simple but pow...