It was a quiet morning on the balcony. A cup of tea in hand, the Nairobi air tinged with dew and the scent of life-giving trees. Birds in mid-chorus, children laughing downstairs in the distance.
Surrounded by the towering trees and lush green tapestry outside my window, I paused. Breathed in. And remembered: our human story is deeply, irreversibly woven into the fabric of this planet we call home.
This Earth Day 2025 marks 55 years since the first Earth Day in 1970—a powerful moment in history when millions of people stood up to say: enough is enough.
The air was polluted, rivers were aflame, and ecosystems were collapsing. But the people—activists, teachers, grandmothers, children—came together. It was a movement born from urgency—and carried forward by visionaries, scientists, and ordinary citizens who dared to believe in better. And the world listened.
This year’s theme, Our Power, Our Planet,” urges us to triple clean electricity by 2030. But what does that mean in practice?
In my many missions across different parts of Africa, I witnessed the harsh realities of energy poverty. A midwife, holding her phone in her mouth, using its flashlight to deliver a baby.
A nurse, making life-saving decisions in the dark. And a child—brilliant and curious—being left behind in a world surging ahead with AI and virtual classrooms, simply because there is no power socket in sight. I also encountered moments of hope.
In some healthcare facilities, solar-powered wall-mounted light boxes beamed like quiet heroes in labor wards, securing the dignity of childbirth and the survival of mother and child.
Solar-powered lights powering communities and lighting up the evening homework hours.
That is the power of clean energy. Not just to light rooms—but to save lives. To bridge equity. To connect our children to quality education, to the internet, to the promise of AI and tomorrow’s vast opportunities. The results of Earth Day this past half-century have been transformative:
The Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act in the US
The global phaseout of leaded gasoline
Protections for endangered species
A global shift toward climate accountability
Earth Day has gifted us with cleaner air, unleaded gasoline, protected water sources, and renewed hope for endangered species. Yet none of it happened by chance. It took collective action, unrelenting advocacy, and courageous leadership.
It’s 2025 and we stand at a crossroads. Africa is home to the world’s youngest population, its most under-electrified communities, and the fastest-growing urban centres. We cannot afford to be left behind—not in the clean energy transition, not in the digital revolution, and certainly not in the fight for climate justice. Access to clean energy isn’t just an environmental issue—it’s a development imperative.
It fuels education, connects us to the global economy, powers healthcare, and drives innovation.
As a development practitioner and environmentalist, I am forever inspired by the legendary Wangari Maathai and the collective activism of the Greenbelt Movement. She planted trees and in doing so, planted hope. Wangari Maathai taught us that systemic change starts with local action. That women’s leadership matters.
That climate justice is social justice. Her trees and her activism continue to power the very clean Kenyan air we breathe. Wangari Maathai and the Greenbelt Movement are proof that local leadership can yield global legacies.
As a continent, where do we go from here?
Now more than ever, we need systems-based collaboration—solutions that don’t live in silos, but in the shared space between health, education, infrastructure, governance, and the environment. That requires:
Elevating local leadership to design and drive change
Activating the silent majority—the millions who care but feel alone in the fight
Mainstreaming clean energy access as a core metric of development
Bridging public-private-community partnerships to scale innovation, and
Centering women and youth in climate solutions
This Earth Day, as an African, a woman, a mother, and a development practitioner with a passion for sustainability, I don’t just reflect—I recommit. To amplifying voices from the margins. To powering healthcare, not just healing.
To nurturing the planet as a sacred inheritance. And to ensuring Africa does not lag behind—but leads in. The future isn’t waiting. It’s watching. Let’s rise—for people, for the planet, and for posterity.
The writer is Founder and Chief Executive, MIDAS-WASH. Email: [email protected]
