From Story to Impact: Communities EverGreening Africa

Learn about how DCCI is expanding the DCCI School Awards across Africa.

At the heart of the Direct Climate Cooling Initiative is a simple idea: that young people, when given the opportunity, will respond with clarity, creativity, and a strong sense of purpose. This is already being seen in our work with Communities EverGreening Africa (CEGA), led by Shadrack Mutembei, whose work is reflected in The Farm. Through regreening initiatives, food forest programmes, and community-led environmental restoration, CEGA is demonstrating how practical solutions can transform both landscapes and lives. What is particularly powerful is the connection now forming between schools and these real-world initiatives.

Through the DCCI School Awards, students are not only engaging with environmental themes through storytelling, drama, and creative work – they are also supporting projects on the ground. In doing so, they begin to understand that their actions, however small they may seem, can contribute to something much larger.

We are now looking to expand this work through the development of the DCCI School Awards Africa, working closely with Shadrack and his team to involve schools across the region. This expansion reflects the principle: Think Global, Act Local. While the challenges we face are shared globally, the solutions are often rooted in local knowledge, community effort, and care for the land.

By connecting schools internationally through initiatives such as CEGA, we are creating a living exchange, where learning, creativity, and action come together in meaningful ways.

Funds raised through school presentations that tell the story of the charity, be it CEGA, Justdiggit or GoForest, school-led initiatives will directly support projects that help soil regeneration and biodiversity restoration, ensuring that the impact of students’ work is both visible and lasting. In this way, the story continues beyond the page, taking root in the real world and growing through the hands of those who choose to take part.

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