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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A Ugandan national Galabuzi Brian Kakembo has scooped the overall prize of the 2020 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year for his work on transforming biodegradable plastics and organic waste into eco-friendly charcoal briquettes.
Galabuzi is honoured for particularly setting up an enterprise to educate women and young people to turn waste into wealth. His enterprise; WEYE Clean Energy Company Ltd manufacturers Kyoto eco-briquettes and institutional briquette stoves and ovens and runs the Waste to Energy Youth Project, aimed at training youth to lead the clean energy transition.
He has reached more than 800 women and young people, and 600 of them now make and sell briquettes in Uganda as part of his effort to promote the transition from wood fuel to affordable fuel briquettes. They generate bio-gas from bio-waste and recycle non-bio-waste products to create arts, crafts and basic household items.
He says that his passion for promoting the transition to clean renewable energy was sparked by the negative impacts of high consumption of wood fuel on human health and the environment.
“I want the world to see that unemployed youth is not a problem but an untapped resource that can be trained and supported to bring about a social change,” he said.
Galabuzi was among the 16 finalists selected from a pool of 500 nominations received by the commonwealth secretariat from 40 countries. He receives a £3,000 (14 million Shillings) grant for their projects.
The other winners included Hafiz, from Pakistan, who created water purification kits to improve access to clean water in poor communities and refugee camps to help prevent the spread of waterborne diseases, Sowmyan Jegatheesan from Canada, who has developed one of the world’s largest online information hubs to help communities build resilience by understanding climate activities, migration patterns and human-wildlife conflict.
The fourth winner was Sagufta Salma from Fiji whose work involves turning waste material into sustainable furniture and home accessories.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, who presented the awards said that considering the awards brought out the vast range of impressive innovations out in the world.
“The entries remind us that there is no lack of ingenuity or ideas. What we tend to lack are mechanisms to support and fund the young innovators who have the imagination and creativity we need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
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