About this project

Rising Currents is a strategic youth-led initiative designed to build climate resilience through targeted water action in underserved and climate-vulnerable communities. The project recognizes the critical role young people play in driving innovative, sustainable solutions and seeks to unlock this potential through structured capacity building, community engagement, and policy advocacy.

Through a series of workshops, mentorship programs, and localized interventions, the project will equip youth with practical skills in climate-smart water management, nature-based solutions, and civic leadership. In parallel, it will foster multi-stakeholder partnerships, integrating traditional ecological knowledge with scientific practices to enhance the effectiveness and legitimacy of youth-driven solutions.

Rising Currents will directly benefit 300+ young people and reach over 2,000 community members through awareness campaigns, local action projects, and advocacy efforts. The initiative will culminate in a regional Youth Water and Climate Action Forum to consolidate learnings, showcase impact, and present youth-led policy recommendations.

Aligned with the objectives of the Youth for Water and Climate Platform, this project offers you a scalable, replicable model that advances youth empowerment, community resilience, and sustainable water resource management. By investing in Rising Currents, you will help drive transformative change at the grassroots level—ensuring that young people are not just included, but leading the response to our most urgent environmental challenges.

Goals and Objectives

Goals and Objectives:
Rising Currents: Empowering Young Voices for Climate Resilience aims to build climate-resilient communities by empowering youth to lead water-smart environmental initiatives. The project’s key objectives are:
1. To enhance youth capacity in climate-smart water management, including rainwater harvesting, sustainable irrigation, and ecosystem restoration.
2. To implement community-driven solutions such as tree planting and climate-resilient gardens to improve food and water security.
3. To amplify youth voices in environmental decision-making through advocacy, storytelling, and policy engagement.

Intended Beneficiaries:
The primary beneficiaries are 300 youth aged 15–30 from rural and peri-urban communities vulnerable to water scarcity, food insecurity, and climate shocks. Secondary beneficiaries include approximately 2,000 community members indirectly reached through environmental education campaigns and shared green infrastructure.

Why They Were Chosen and How They Will Benefit:
These youth are often excluded from environmental planning, despite bearing the long-term impacts of climate change. By equipping them with practical skills, leadership opportunities, and resources, the project enables them to initiate and manage sustainable interventions such as tree planting, community gardens, and water conservation systems. These initiatives will directly improve local microclimates, enhance nutrition through food gardens, and restore degraded ecosystems.

Sustainability:
Local ownership will be promoted through youth-led committees, school eco-clubs, and partnerships with local municipalities and environmental NGOs. Training modules and toolkits will be made available to ensure ongoing learning. Trees and gardens will be maintained by trained youth leaders with support from community stakeholders.

Potential for Replication and Scaling:
The model is cost-effective, youth-driven, and adaptable to diverse contexts. Its participatory and practical design makes it ideal for replication across regions facing similar water-climate challenges. With additional investment, Rising Currents can evolve into a regional youth-led climate resilience network, scaling its environmental and social impact.

Expected result

1. Enhanced Youth Capacity for Climate Action
• Specific: Train 300 youth (aged 15–30) in water conservation, tree planting, and climate-resilient agriculture through a structured 6-month training program.
• Measurable: At least 85% of participants demonstrate improved knowledge and skills via pre/post assessments and practical demonstrations.
• Achievable: Trainings will be delivered in partnership with environmental NGOs, agricultural extension officers, and local mentors.
• Relevant: Youth currently lack access to climate and environmental training opportunities.
• Time-bound: Training completed by Month 6 of the project implementation.

2. Establishment of 4 Climate-Resilient Community Gardens
• Specific: Create 4 youth-led community gardens incorporating drought-resistant crops, composting systems, and rainwater harvesting.
• Measurable: Each garden supports at least 20 households with fresh produce, improving food security and nutritional outcomes.
• Achievable: Land access will be secured via local municipalities or schools; tools and seeds will be provided through donor funding.
• Relevant: Gardens reduce food insecurity, support livelihoods, and showcase nature-based solutions.
• Time-bound: Gardens fully functional by Month 8.

3. Planting of 2,000 Indigenous and Fruit Trees
• Specific: Mobilize youth and community volunteers to plant 2,000 trees across schools, gardens, and public spaces.
• Measurable: At least 80% of trees survive after the first year, tracked through a community monitoring plan.
• Achievable: Tree planting events will be coordinated with local forestry departments and schools.
• Relevant: Tree planting contributes to carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and microclimate regulation.
• Time-bound: Tree planting campaigns completed by Month 10, with a sustainability plan in place.

4. Youth Advocacy and Community Engagement Strengthened
• Specific: Conduct 5 climate awareness campaigns, reaching 2,000+ community members and stakeholders.
• Measurable: At least 60% of campaign participants report increased awareness of climate and water issues in post-event surveys.
• Achievable: Campaigns include clean-up drives, school visits, storytelling sessions, and a regional Youth Forum.
• Relevant: Public education shifts behavior and builds support for environmental initiatives.
• Time-bound: Campaigns rolled out between Months 5 and 11.

5. Youth-Led Policy Recommendations Developed and Shared
• Specific: Produce a Youth for Water and Climate Action Policy Brief with recommendations based on project experiences.
• Measurable: At least 3 key policy actors (e.g., local council, water authority, education department) engage with the brief through roundtables or meetings.
• Achievable: Youth leaders will be mentored in policy writing and advocacy.
• Relevant: Elevating youth voices ensures long-term inclusion in environmental governance.
• Time-bound: Policy brief finalized and shared at the closing forum in Month 12.

About me / organisation
Matshidiso Ramabothole

About the Project Leader:

The founder and project leader of The Voice is Matshidiso Letsie, a passionate youth activist and community development practitioner, aged 28. With a strong background in climate justice, gender advocacy, and youth empowerment, Matshidiso brings a wealth of experience in managing and implementing grassroots projects that aim to uplift marginalised voices and create sustainable change.

She has led several community-based initiatives focusing on environmental restoration, youth leadership, and social justice. Notably, she coordinated a youth-led climate resilience project that involved the planting of over 1,000 indigenous trees, the establishment of school-based eco-clubs, and community workshops on environmental stewardship. Her experience also includes working with civil society organisations and international partners on advocacy campaigns, policy dialogues, and participatory learning processes.

Matshidiso is the founding director of The Voice, a platform created to amplify the concerns, ideas, and solutions of young people, particularly those from underrepresented communities. Under her leadership, The Voice has become a dynamic space for intergenerational dialogue, civic engagement, and climate action. She has successfully mobilised youth volunteers, trained peer educators, and fostered collaborations with schools, NGOs, and local municipalities.

Her ability to manage complex projects is supported by her skills in strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, community mobilisation, and fundraising. She holds a degree in Development Studies and has received additional training in climate leadership and ethical governance. Matshidiso’s leadership is grounded in lived experience, empathy, and a deep commitment to social equity and environmental justice.

With a clear vision and an inclusive leadership style, Matshidiso continues to inspire young people to take action, speak up, and become change agents in their communities. Her track record demonstrates the capacity and credibility needed to drive impactful, youth-centered development projects

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