Education Above All Foundation tackles climate challenges through EEIs in Kenya

As the world prepares for COP30, the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference set to take place in Belém, Brazil, there is a renewed global urgency to empower young people with the knowledge, skills, and leadership needed to confront the climate crisis.

In line with these efforts, the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), a global education and development foundation, is advancing climate resilience and environmental education initiatives (EEIs) in arid regions of Kenya through its Green Youth 360 initiative.

Implemented by the Girl Child Network (GCN) with support from EAA Foundation’s Reach Out to All (ROTA) programme, the three-year project addresses the impact of severe drought and environmental degradation in the Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps, two of the world’s largest.

The initiative engages refugee youth and their host communities in hands-on climate action, building sustainable livelihoods and promoting environmental stewardship.

Empowering youth for climate action 

Green Youth 360 targets youth aged 15 to 24 years in both refugee camps and surrounding host communities, providing green skills training in areas such as tree planting, beekeeping, agriculture, renewable energy, and waste management.

Key outcomes include:

• Reaching 76,800 youth, including those with disabilities, across Dadaab (Garissa County) and Kakuma (Turkana County);
• Implementing activities in 120 schools across refugee and host communities;
• Offering training to 45,000 youth in climate-smart livelihoods and environmental conservation;

The Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps together host over 700,000 refugees, primarily from Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These communities continue to face protracted displacement, food insecurity, and scarce livelihood opportunities, all compounded by the worsening effects of climate change.

The power of climate education

“When we empower young people with knowledge and responsibility, we don’t just change their lives, we change the destiny of families and entire communities. Green Youth 360 has made our school a beacon of hope in Turkana,” says Joseph Edukon, the head of Kakuma Arid Zone Primary School, one of the implementers of the project in northwest Kenya.

“When we worked with our partners and came and visited, we saw some really barren areas,” said Tareq Al Bakri, Technical Specialist at ROTA, a programme of Education Above All Foundation.

“It is now greener with more trees and small gardens – almost all of the spaces that are available in the schools are now planted. I’m very proud of the youth’s sense of ownership and their pride in what they have done.”

“One of the outcomes of this project is to equip youth with the knowledge of green skills so that they can acquire values and the cognitive abilities to understand how their personal behaviours affect the environment,” said Dennis Mutiso, Executive Director of the Girl Child Network. “Another outcome includes working with the youth in different climate action areas.”

From Kenya to COP30: Turning local action into global impact

As the international community heads toward COP30, the EAA Foundation’s work exemplifies how education is a climate solution, empowering youth to drive local adaptation, resilience, and sustainability efforts. COP30 will not only advance the goals of the Paris Agreement but also spotlight the critical role of education in tackling the climate emergency.

Through initiatives like Green Youth 360, the EAA Foundation is helping to translate global commitments into tangible action on the ground, demonstrating how education can serve as a catalyst for climate justice and sustainable development.

Across Africa, the Foundation has worked in 37 countries, supporting over 9.1 million children and youth with access to quality education and employment opportunities.

Globally, EAA Foundation has supported 18.5 million children and youth in more than 75 countries, partnering with over 100 organisations to ensure inclusive, equitable education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

About EAA Foundation 

The Education Above All (EAA) Foundation is a global foundation established in 2012 by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. EAA Foundation aims to transform lives through education and employment opportunities.

The Foundation believes that education is the single most effective means of reducing poverty, creating peaceful and just societies, unlocking the full potential of every child and youth, and creating the right conditions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).