"YES WE CAN!" WeCan Academy Students Choose to Own Their Environment
Nairobi, Kenya — Saturday 10th October 2026, young people from WeCan Academy took to the streets along Thika Road not in protest, but with brooms, gloves, and seedlings — proving that caring for the environment begins with a change of the mind.
The free vacation training centre by IYF (International Youth Fellowship), formerly known as the Free Weekend Academy, led the Mazingira Day clean-up walk from IYF Headquarters to the Chief's Camp in Roysambu Ward, where the day concluded with the planting of over 1,000 tree seedlings.
The initiative was built on a simple conviction: the real dirt is not on the road — it is in the mindset of blaming. It is the same conviction instilled by IYF's founder, Reverend Dr. Ock Soo Park, who teaches young people a mindset of living for others — and on Mazingira Day, that is exactly what these youths did, taking care of their community and their environment.
“At WeCan Academy, we teach before any skill: change from ‘someone should do it’ to ‘I will do it, this clean-up was a mindset class in action. Mazingira Day is not about one day of cleaning; it is about changing the heart that litters daily. A clean heart creates a clean environment.” said the Principal- WeCan Academy ~Aeneas Wanyonyi~
A clean environment begins with a change in mindset. In Roysambu, the waste management challenge calls for more than clean-up campaigns — it requires a change in how people think about their responsibility for the environment.
Nairobi County generates an estimated 2,400 tonnes of waste daily, with less than half ever collected. For Roysambu alone — home to more than 230,000 residents (2019 census) — that translates to an estimated 175 tonnes of waste every day. While these figures are historical, they illustrate the scale of the challenge the young people confronted, and the need for sustained action by residents, schools, businesses and other institutions.
The walk saw students from the Academy — which trains youth in practical skills such as AI, media, design, broadcasting, leadership, and digital skills — joined by community members along the Thika Road corridor. At the Roysambu Chief's Camp, participants planted over 1,000 tree seedlings as a lasting symbol of their pledge to keep their environment clean beyond a single day.
For over three decades, IYF has empowered more than one million young people worldwide through mindset education and characterdevelopment, encouraging youth to become responsible, patriotic citizens who take ownership of their communities.
The WeCan Academy clean-up exercise on Mazingira Day sent a message of awareness — young people demonstrating environmental leadership through their everyday actions. The day provided the starting point, but lasting change depends on the choices people make long after the clean-up ends.