Age
15
Country of Residence
Nigeria
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
I come from a community called Idaw-River in Enugu State, Nigeria. Idaw-River is one of the 174 communities in Enugu State. The community currently has an estimated population of 20,000 people. The community currently suffers from a dearth in infrastructures. One major problem affecting this community as it relates to this project is the issue of plastic waste and pollution. This is most especially as it relates to the use of plastic shopping bags. I came to see the huge negative effects of this practice as the only river in my community recently witnessed the death of several fishes. Currently, there are no fishes in this river. This is due to the high rate of plastic usage. This is most especially as it relates to the use of plastic shopping bags. This has invariably affected not just the lives of these fishes, but also businesses that rely on fishing to survive. I recently spoke to one fisherman in my community who said in our local parlance (pidgin) and I quote “Plastics don spoil our work”. This simply means plastics has destroyed our means of livelihood. This is due to the fact that these plastics are not biodegradable. This means that they stay the same for years and have invariably found their ways into our rivers and waterways. The foregoing experiences have therefore lit a fire in me to initiate this project and to become a strong “No plastic” champion.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
• Radio programs: These radio programs will be held on quarterly basis. We expect to have 1 radio program to promote teen and youth involvement in addressing plastic waste and pollution. This will be held 1 hour for each of these quarters. These sessions will start off with brief introductions and thereafter an interactive session on the need for teens and youth to be engaged in addressing the plastic issue. After these sessions, the phone lines will be thrown open for them to listen to contributions and questions from residents of the State. We will have a total of 16 of our trained beneficiaries taking part in this radio programs. They will be coming from various youth led and youth focused organizations here in Enugu State. Furthermore, they will be drawn from across the 17 LGAs here in Enugu State. They will serve as our panelists in these sessions. An estimated 950,000 young radio listeners will take the knowledge gained from this program to have an attitudinal change. This is one from plastic usage to its discontinued usage. Furthermore, they are expected to use this knowledge to increase their “No plastics” activism. • Social Media Campaigns: This social media campaigns will also be held on a monthly basis. We expect to have 1 social media campaign to promote teen and youth involvement in addressing this plastic issue here in Enugu State.
How many people are on your team?
3
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
• Project Goal: “An Idaw-River community where reusable shopping bags and products are prioritized over plastics”. • Project Impacts: 1. Increased knowledge amongst project participants on the need to prioritize reusable products over plastics. 2. Increased skills amongst projects participants on how to produce reusable shopping bags. 3. Changes in the mindsets and attitudes of project participants. This is from one that prioritizes the usage of plastics to its discontinued usage. 4. Project participants with economic skills, that they can use to earn a living from. 5. Reduction in the rate of plastic waste and pollution in Idaw-River community. We are sure that the foregoing project impacts will work because; we are mainstreaming strict adherence to the principle of inclusion in this project. As an organization, we strongly believe that for a project to be both impactful and sustainable that the beneficiaries, host communities and community leaders have to own it. The process of this ownership starts from the point of project ideation right to its end. This is what we have already done in this project. We have already involved our beneficiaries at the ideation stage of this project. This is to ensure both the success of this project and also its sustainability.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
This project is called “Shop Beta”. It is an innovative project, which seeks to empower teens and youth ages 15-30 years to be “No plastics” leaders and champions here in Enugu State, Nigeria.
Project title
"Shop Beta"
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
I come from a community called Idaw-River in Enugu State, Nigeria. Idaw-River is one of the 174 communities in Enugu State. The community currently has an estimated population of 20,000 people. One major problem affecting this community as it relates to this project is the issue of plastic waste and pollution. This is most especially as it relates to the use of plastic shopping bags. We recently undertook a research in Idaw-River. In this research, we interviewed 250 teens and youth ages (15-30 years). We asked them what kind of shopping bags they carry to the market. It was indeed saddening to know that 230 of our respondents admitted to using plastic (nylon) bags to shop. This is indeed a staggering statistic. The reasons for this overwhelming usage of plastic shopping bags are not far-fetched as it includes a combination of ignorance to convenience. The dangers of this sad situation here in Idaw-River are so numerous to mention. This is because, it affects our health, economic and environmental lives. This is due to the fact that these plastics are not biodegradable. This means that they stay the same for years and have invariably found their ways into our rivers and waterways. This portends a great danger even to marine animals and businesses that rely on marine animals. There is therefore an urgent need to address this issue.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.sirpnigeria.org
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
• Project Goal: “An Idaw-River community where reusable shopping bags and products are prioritized over plastics”. Activities: 1. Project team meeting 2. Project dissemination campaigns through social media platforms. 3. Training on sustainability and the need to prioritize reusable products over plastics. 4. Training on how to produce reusable shopping bags using paper and fabrics. 5. Project Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) activities (including the submission of a final report). • Project Partners/Stakeholders: The Enugu State Ministry of Environment: We will be liaising with them to ensure both the success and sustainability of this project. We will also be advocating for policies and Laws, which prohibits the usage of plastics here in Enugu State. • Youth led and focused environmental organizations in Enugu State: We will be liaising with 10 of these organizations in the implementation of this project. This is because, their input and views will help enrich this project.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
This project is innovative in two major ways and it includes the following: 1. It is youth-led: This project is one that is led by youth. All the project team members are between the ages of 15-30 years. This is something that we rarely see in other projects and also in this part of the world. This is because, teens and youth are rarely given opportunities to lead and make decisions. This project is changing this by putting youth in leadership positions. 2. Strict adherence to the principle of inclusion: As an organization, we strongly believe that for a project to be both impactful and sustainable that the beneficiaries, host communities and community leaders have to own it. The process of this ownership starts from the point of project ideation right to its end. This is what we have already done in this project. We have already involved our beneficiaries at the ideation stage of this project. This is to ensure both the success of this project and also its sustainability. This is also something that we don’t see in other projects here in Nigeria. This is because, project beneficiaries have no say in the design of these projects. Furthermore, they are not involved all through the stages of the project. 3. It is multi-sectoral: Most projects like this only focus on the climate issue, while forgetting about the economic side to it. This project therefore does not just address plastic waste and pollution issues but also addresses the issue of teen and youth economic empowerment. This is because, we are not just training them about the dangers of plastics but also training them on how to produce reusable shopping bags. These are bags made up of paper and fabrics. This is one skill they can use and earn a living for themselves.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
This project is called “Shop Beta”. It is an innovative project, which seeks to empower teens and youth ages 15-30 years to be “No plastics” leaders and champions here in Idaw-River community of Enugu State, Nigeria. Currently in Idaw-River, 2 out of every 3 teen and youth (ages 15-30 years) uses plastic bags to shop. The reasons for this are not far-fetched as it includes a combination of convenience to norms and values. The dangers of this sad situation here in Enugu State are so numerous to mention. This is because, it affects our health, economic and environmental lives. This is due to the fact that these plastics are not biodegradable. This means that they stay the same for years and have invariably found their ways into our rivers and waterways. This portends a great danger even to marine animals and businesses that rely on marine animals. We therefore intend to change all this by empowering 25 teen and youth to become “No plastics” leaders. It must also be noted that this proposed project is one that respects the principle of inclusion. This is one, which involves project beneficiaries right from the project start to its end. They will be trained on the dangers of plastics. This is with regards to how the incessant use of plastics affect their health, economic and environmental lives. The whole essence is to change their mindsets and attitudes about the use of plastics. This is expected to move from one of its usage to its discontinued usage. Furthermore, we intend through this project to train our beneficiaries on how to produce reusable shopping bags. These are bags made out of fabrics and paper. This knowledge and skills will definitely lead to their economic empowerment. This is because, they can sell these bags and earn a living from it.
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Somtochukwu Ugwu-Program Assistant Ajima Uche- Communications officer John Chinonso- Outreach Officer
