Joy Nwaeze from Nigeria is OD Young Person of the Month – November 2026 – YOA

Meet Joy Nwaeze, a Nigerian local weather coverage advocate and company social duty knowledgeable working to enhance how governments, organisations, and communities reply to local weather change. Joy is the founder of Africa Upcycle Community, a nonprofit organisation that works on waste administration, local weather training, neighborhood improvement, and entry to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) training throughout Africa. Since 2019, her work has reached over 60,000 folks.

Read extra about her story and be impressed

Growing up, Joy skilled the challenges of dwelling with out entry to wash water. Until she was about 19 years previous, she needed to fetch water and carry it on her head. She was additionally involved about how folks disposed of waste in her neighborhood, typically throwing gadgets on the floor with out contemplating the results on their well being or environment. These experiences made her interested by environmental points and what she might do to deal with them. In 2018, she started researching environmental points and volunteering with nonprofit organisations. Her first main OPPORTUNITY to guide a venture got here by means of a Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) service occasion, the place she was allowed to develop and implement an thought of her personal. She introduced volunteers collectively to coach college students about local weather change and accountable waste administration. During the occasion, she displayed a two-step skirt she had made from previous newspapers to reveal how waste supplies may very well be was helpful gadgets. She additionally donated supplies to the host faculty to encourage college students to practise recycling and upcycling. Her curiosity in turning discarded supplies into artistic art work turned the place to begin for her work in environmental training. She subsequently took on management duties with Rees Africa, serving in roles that included secretary, staff lead, and state lead. In 2021, she based Africa Upcycle Community to coach folks about environmental points, affect insurance policies, and assist communities reply to local weather change.

Her Work and Impact
Through Africa Upcycle Community, Joy organises tasks in African nations, notably in communities affected by local weather-associated challenges. The organisation’s work covers waste administration, local weather training, company governance, neighborhood improvement, and WASH training. Its programmes train folks about environmental safety, encourage accountable waste disposal, and supply sensible abilities for reusing discarded supplies.

Joy additionally works with girls and younger folks, supporting them to amass abilities, take part in environmental tasks, and contribute to selections affecting their communities. Since 2019, she has reached over 60,000 folks by means of her programmes and engagements. Her aim is to succeed in one other 4,000 folks by 2027. Beyond neighborhood tasks, she works with policymakers and different stakeholders to encourage governments to think about the experiences of communities most affected by local weather change when growing insurance policies.

Her Achievemnents
Joy has been consulted on local weather coverage discussions involving three European governments, contributing views from the Global South to parliamentary engagements. She has additionally labored with worldwide organisations, together with UNESCO, on points referring to local weather change and youth participation. She is one of 24 UNESCO Global Youth Trainers and at the moment serves on the advisory staff of the UNESCO Youth Climate Action Network. As a public speaker, she has obtained greater than 30 invites to talk at occasions throughout 5 continents, the place she discusses local weather coverage, environmental safety, and the function of younger folks in addressing local weather change. Through these alternatives, she has introduced consideration to the challenges confronted by communities with restricted entry to wash water, insufficient waste administration techniques, and different environmental issues.

Challenges and Lessons Learned
One of the greatest challenges Joy faces is funding. Running neighborhood tasks requires assets, and securing sufficient funding to implement and broaden programmes stays troublesome. To handle this, she repeatedly applies for grants and approaches potential companions to assist the organisation’s actions. Another problem is the exclusion of younger folks from local weather coverage discussions. Joy believes that younger folks ought to be consulted when governments make selections about local weather change, notably as a result of they’ll reside with the lengthy-time period penalties of these selections. To handle this, she encourages younger folks to study their nations’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), monitor authorities commitments, and lift issues when progress is insufficient. Language variations have additionally been a problem when working in communities the place folks converse totally different languages. Her organisation works with interpreters to make sure that neighborhood members perceive the data being shared and might take part in actions. These experiences have taught her the significance of looking for assist, working with others, and discovering sensible methods to deal with the challenges that include working a nonprofit organisation.

Future Plans
Joy plans to proceed talking about local weather change, writing coverage papers, and organising tasks that assist girls, younger folks, and communities affected by environmental issues. She additionally desires to broaden her organisation’s coaching programmes, notably those who train folks how one can flip waste supplies into helpful merchandise and develop abilities that would present alternatives to earn an earnings. One of her upcoming tasks is the Waste-to-Craft Train-the-Trainer Programme, scheduled for October 31, 2026. The programme will prepare individuals in upcycling strategies and equip them to show others. She hopes to proceed working with governments, worldwide organisations, and native communities to enhance local weather insurance policies and create extra alternatives for younger folks to take part in selections about their future.

Her Advice To Young People
For younger individuals who wish to make a difference of their communities, Joy encourages them to continue to learn, share their concepts, and take motion wherever they will. Her recommendation is easy:
“Don’t stop dreaming, speaking and learning. Do what you can to change the world. It does count.”

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Read about earlier YPOMs right here.