LGBTIQ-Led River Cleanup and Water Access Initiative
Project Summary
A community-led environmental justice project where 50 LGBTIQ individuals in peri-urban Kenya cleaned and declogged rivers contaminated by industrial waste from Thika town to provide clean water access for school children while demonstrating that environmental issues affect everyone regardless of sexuality.
Detailed Story
Living in peri urban areas, the group noticed that school going children go to rivers to get water. The areas around these school flow from industrial Thika town. They opted to clean these rivers, declogging them so they could have clean and flowing water. The waste that was coming from industries and urban Thika town had a lot of toxins. As LGBTIQ persons who are regarded as unafrican, they took initiative to showcase that everyone is affected regardless of their sexuality. The project faced significant challenges including threats from factories and threats of exposure as an LGBTIQ group. However, there was goodwill from the county government and the ministries. The initiative demonstrated that a clean river helps clean the environment for human beings and that together as human beings irrespective of sexuality, people can change the world. The project aimed to ensure clean water access, healthier children, and accountability from governments while promoting the message that environmental activism transcends social divisions and sexual identity.
Impact Statement
50 LGBTIQ community members organized river cleanup efforts to remove industrial toxins and waste, declogged waterways to restore clean flowing water for school children, challenged social prejudices by demonstrating environmental leadership from marginalized community, gained support from county government and ministries for environmental initiative, created cleaner water access for local school children reducing health risks from contaminated water sources, demonstrated that environmental issues transcend social divisions and affect everyone regardless of sexuality, promoted accountability from industrial polluters and government agencies