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...

When I first heard the President announce the lifting of the ban on lumbering within the Mau — a forest system that communities and rivers depend on — my stomach dropped. I am a young environmentalist who grew up close enough to a forest to know what the loss of a single mature tree can do to soil, springs and local livelihoods. In Vihiga and the Maragoli Hills we have watched degraded patches that were once living water-tanks turn brittle and thin after waves of extraction. I say this not as a partisan critic but as someone who has seen, up close, how short-term economic wins can become long-term ecological and social losses. A few realities must sit at the centre of any sober debate about reopening forest harvesting. First: Kenya is running a national push to plant 15 billion trees over the next decade — a headline ambition that has mobilised private groups, civil society and communities across the country. That commitment means nothing if it coexists with policies that make it easie...

By Kevin Makova | Forezava Voices – Vihiga Edition It’s funny how we love to complain — about high prices, lack of jobs, bad roads, corruption, and the never-ending drama in politics — yet when it’s time to do the one simple thing that could change it all, we stay home. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) recently opened continuous voter registration, but truth be told, turnout has been low. The same youth who dominate every protest, meme, and WhatsApp group debate about leadership are the same ones missing in the voter lists. We keep saying “Kenya needs change!” But how, if we refuse to touch the very tool that gives us power — the ballot? A Conversation That Hit Home During one of my usual morning walks in the village, I stopped to chat with a young neighbor — bright, opinionated, and full of life. But when I asked if she had registered to vote, her answer shocked me. “What for?” she said. “Voting doesn’t help anyone. It just makes politicians richer.”...

MTAJAM BUT MTADO? Every October, a quiet kind of exhaustion seems to settle over people. The year is winding down, the weather is shifting, and suddenly there’s a collective sense of retreat. Targets begin to fade into the background, plans are postponed, and the comforting mantra, “I’ll start afresh in January,” takes over. It’s an almost cultural phenomenon — a seasonal surrender disguised as reflection. In truth, it is one of the most dangerous mindsets to entertain, particularly among young people navigating the demanding transitions of study, work, and personal ambition. The tragedy is not that people are tired; it’s that they mistake fatigue for finality. The Academic Drift Across campuses, many students are in the final stretch — one last paper to defend, one more proposal to refine, or a research project awaiting completion. Yet October arrives, and suddenly, the momentum stalls. A demanding lecturer, the fatigue of continuous deadlines, or the disappointment of earlier setbac...

The other day, I found myself listening to a powerful online conversation. It was one of those exchanges that keeps you hooked, not because it entertains, but because it stirs something deep inside you. It left me reflecting on a problem that is both local and global: the rise of the “ do-nothingers ”—those who choose silence, passivity, or complacency in the face of threats that affect all of us. Closer home, the thought took me back to a recent conversation on our own blog. We had written about the poor implementation of climate change projects . What followed was both predictable and shocking. My phone lit up with calls and messages urging us to pull the piece down, to avoid “dirty politics.” Some voices were threatening, others dismissive. Yet, in the same storm came a wave of encouragement from youth who insisted: mistakes were made, someone must be accountable. Their determination didn’t stop at words—they immediately set up a petition to recall the area MCA for Izava/Lyaduywa...