Nairobi: Strengthening Civil Society Engagement for a Just and Sustainable Urbanization (SCEJU) has launched its three-year action plan for 2024-2026 aimed at championing urban sustainability and empowering youths as climate leaders. The project is co-funded by the European Union and comprises the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES-Kenya), the Civil Society Urban Development Platform (CSUDP), and the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) to promote sustainable water and waste management in Kisumu, Nakuru, and Makueni counties.
According to Kenya News Agency, the SCEJU project’s overall objective is to strengthen democracy and inclusive democratic processes concerning urban quality of life, climate change, and biodiversity in Kenya. Although the country enacted the Sustainable Waste Management Act 2022, which requires waste sorting at the household level, compliance remains a challenge. Progressive reforms in the water sector, which largely privatized service provision, have not fully benefited informal set
tlement areas, where most urbanites live. The project aims to empower youth, women, and vulnerable groups in these areas to tackle critical challenges in sustainable water and waste management.
During the launch, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Kenya Office Country Representative Bastian Schulz highlighted the collaborative effort of PACJA, CSUDP, and FES to overcome existing barriers and make water and waste management more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable. The project aims to assist vulnerable urban communities in addressing persistent challenges that threaten sustainable water and waste management despite constitutional guarantees.
PACJA’s Head of Programmes and Research, Charles Mwangi, emphasized SCEJU’s mission to transform and empower youth, women, and vulnerable groups in the target counties to become architects of their climate-resilient future. He stressed the importance of ensuring marginalized communities have an equal say in shaping sustainable urban policies that affect their lives.
CEO of the
Civil Society Urban Development Platform, George Wasonga, noted that the 2024 World Cities Day theme places youth as key drivers in catalyzing local action for urban sustainability. He stated that SCEJU’s focus on capacitating youth aims to unlock their innovative potential to drive change in water and waste services within informal settlements, positioning them as climate change makers.
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Programme Coordinator Titus Kaloki added that despite the potential of youth and women to provide last-mile services for water and waste management, they remain incapacitated in harnessing opportunities for decent jobs and are often excluded from decision-making processes. SCEJU seeks to amplify their voices to influence better outcomes for communities in the target counties.
The public launch aims to achieve its objectives by bringing together representatives from target groups such as youth, women, and media members, along with national and county departments. Other objectives include network faci
litation, knowledge exchange, increasing project visibility, and attracting media involvement to disseminate and amplify the project.