Vanessa Nakate and other climate change activists demonstrate in the Luzira suburb of Kampala, Uganda, on September 25, 2020. (Photo by Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo)
In nations across Africa, extreme weather—from droughts to torrential rains that cause floods and landslides—has destroyed crops and homes, resulting in famine, forced migration, and increased homelessness.
At the forefront of the effort to raise awareness about Africa’s climate plight is Vanessa Nakate, a 24-year-old Ugandan social media activist who gained international recognition last year when she was cropped out of an Associated Press photo of youth climate activists at the 2020 World Economic Forum at Davos, such that the photo only featured four young white women, including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg.
Nakate’s activism was inspired, she says, by seeing her father do community work through the local Rotary Club. In 2018, she began researching the various problems affecting Ugandans to see how she could contribute to society. She came across the #FridaysForFuture movement, founded by Thunberg in August 2018, which began as school climate strikes and later became a weeks-long solo strike at the Swedish Parliament ahead of its election. Others soon joined Thunberg, and the movement spread globally online, marked by the hashtag #FridaysForFuture.
“I found out about Greta, [who was] a very good influence in starting the climate strikes,” Nakate says. “I just felt that I had to speak up because I found out about the dangers of climate change. I was really scared to go to the streets and start striking, but I decided it was something impacting people’s lives, and I had to start striking now.”
On January 6, 2019, Nakate took to the streets, climate-striking at four high-traffic public locations. That same day, she launched her activism online.
That year, Nakate took her solo strikes to Uganda’s Parliament. She also organized community cleanups and spoke about climate change to primary school students. When her Twitter audience grew to 20,000 followers (she had more than 180,000 in January 2021), Nakate decided to create Rise Up, which aims to amplify the voices of young African climate change activists. She hosts Rise Up Sunday activists’ meetings on Zoom with youth activists in Africa to discuss strategies for raising awareness and making social change.
“What I like about Vanessa is her consistency and passion for Mother Nature,” says Edwin Namakanga, who manages both the Rise Up Uganda Twitter and Facebook accounts. “She has inspired a lot of the climate activists.”
Nakate’s powerful social media activism inspired one of her Twitter followers, Tim Reutemann, a climate finance expert for Switzerland’s federal office for the environment, to become a financial sponsor. Until then, all of her social media and community projects had been self-funded.
In 2019, they partnered on a project to equip Ugandan schools with energy-efficient solutions, including upgraded stoves to reduce carbon emissions and solar panels to bring electricity. “The project addresses the most glaring injustice in climate change—helping the poorest of the poor reduce their need for firewood and the destruction of their supporting ecosystems,” Reutemann says.
Initially, Reutemann provided a total of $15,000 to fund the equipment and compensate Nakate for project management. Improvements in each school cost about $3,000. Nakate started a crowdfunding campaign through GoFundMe, which has raised more than $20,000, including donations from several small companies and actress Angelina Jolie.
By December 2020, nine Ugandan school projects received new energy-efficient stoves and solar panels they needed.
At Butega Primary School in Mityana, Uganda, there had been no electricity prior to the installation of the solar panels—the batteries of which allow classes to be held during the rainy season and evenings.
“It’s had a very big impact,” notes Butega Primary School assistant head teacher Watulo Moses. “Now, parents and children are comfortable because there are lights now.”
Nakate and Reutemann hope to find a larger donor to upgrade the project to 100 schools in one year. Currently, there are 25,000 Ugandan schools in need of upgrades.
There is a lot on the line for Nakate, outside observers say. “It can be challenging to create a balance between social media advocacy and being involved in projects happening on the ground, but I think it’s a good approach,” explains Landry Ninteretse, former Uganda resident and current Africa managing director of350.org, the climate awareness nonprofit. He believes Nakate should work with faith leaders, NGOs, and other local groups to create long-term change.
“I’m proud how far the Rise Up movement has gone,” Nakate says. “Every person has a light in them and ability to cause change. The trick is using your voice and platform, no matter how small they are.”
Read more stories by Senta Scarborough.