On 11 February 2022, Commonwealth Alumnus Suzan Chawe organised a workshop to raise awareness around the impacts of climate change on forest resources used in basketry in Mlowa Village, Iringa Region, Tanzania. The workshop introduced the need to develop processes for the sustainable sourcing of grass reeds that protect both the forest ecosystem and the income of women basket weavers. Suzan is a Sociologist at the National Environment Management Council.
In March 2022, Commonwealth Alumnus Dr Naveen Pandey delivered a workshop titled ‘We Can Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change Through Education (WeMAC-e)’ in Kaziranga, northeast India. The aim of the ACEF workshop was to raise awareness of climate change in Kaziranga, inform residents about the far-reaching impact of climate change on humans and animals, and how they can increase their resilience and adapt to climate change.
The CSC is excited to bring you three new Case Studies as part of our on-going work exploring the individual trajectories of Commonwealth Alumni. They complement the six case studies published earlier in 2022 and provide further evidence as to the wide-ranging impact of Commonwealth Alumni and the contribution their Commonwealth Scholarship has made to their developmental work.
On 9 March 2022, a group of Commonwealth Alumni working at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, held a symposium for female public junior secondary school students from Makoko, an informal settlement in the Lagos coastal area. The symposium was titled ‘Her Dream, Her Future’ and was designed to promote the importance of girls’ education to those from low-income settings and highlight the opportunities available to girls who complete school education.
Commonwealth Alumnus Margaret Kamau collaborated with Our Lady Mercy Girls Secondary School in Makadara Sub County, Nairobi, Kenya to deliver a STEM mentorship camp. Margaret took a multi-activity approach to her ACEF activity, which included activities aimed at strengthening STEM education amongst both teachers and pupils at the school. The camp ended with a school-based science fair exhibition, funded through ACEF. Margaret is the Education Technical Lead in a Girls Education Challenge project with Education Development Trust.
On 9 March 2022, to mark International Women’s Day, Commonwealth Alumnus Sakhi Anita hosted an in-person and virtual event titled ‘Voice It Out’ in Nashik, India.
Commonwealth Alumnus Gomezgani Nyasulu’s ACEF activity sought to raise awareness of the impact of improper waste management on climate change in Zomba, Malawi and the ways in which communities can adapt their waste management practices to address this. Working with Zomba City Council’s Patrick Manyalo, an Environmental Health Officer at the city council, Gomezgani’s activity highlighted the direct link between poor waste management practices and climate related disasters in Zomba. Gomezgani is an Environmental Health Officer in Zomba.
In February 2022, Commonwealth Alumnus Samwel Odongo Ouko delivered three dialogue sessions to representatives of community Water Management Committees (WMCs) and Water Resource User Associations (WRUAs) in Bunyala Sub-county in Kenya. The sessions were designed to strengthen the climate resilience management capacities of these two groups through the use of Community Score Cards (CSC). Samwel is a Program Manager working with a local NGO that promotes increased access to safe drinking water amongst vulnerable communities targeting girls and women. He was supported by Pascal Ondato Wanyama, Chairman of Bunyala Water Users Association, and Victor Magina, Water Officer in Bunyala sub-county, Kenya.
From 4 November 2021 to 30 January 2022, Commonwealth Alumni Farwa Tassaduq and Sana Ilyas delivered a short virtual course titled ‘Understanding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to Respond to Climate Change’. The course was designed to equip new graduates and young professionals in Pakistan from different fields with the skills and knowledge to address climate change in their projects by focusing on the SDGs. The course was delivered over 12 sessions, with each session lasting two hours.
The Right to Repair is a global movement to ensure everyone has the right to fix the products they own and supports sustainable and responsible consumerism. Commonwealth Alumnus Dr Badziili Nthubu organised a Repairs Ecosystem Workshop in Gaborone, Botswana, to bring together entrepreneurs in the country working in the service and manufacturing industries. The purpose of the workshop was to facilitate discussion amongst entrepreneurs on the repairs ecosystem and how repairs can support efforts geared towards protecting our environment.
