The United Green Movement (UGM) Party held its inaugural UGM COUNTY GIGS; Politics Made Fun event in Kisumu County. The event, themed “Celebrating Mother Nature on Mother’s Day,” took place at the Obunga Sports Complex on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2024.
The County Gigs are part of UGM Party’s commitment to engaging and empowering Kenya’s youth. With a focus on addressing youth unemployment through innovation, these events aim to introduce the UGM’s green ideology to young people, provide a platform for young greenpreneurs to showcase their innovations, and foster dialogue about Kenyan politics.
The Kisumu County Gig offered an opportunity for the UGM Party to highlight some of the environmental issues facing the residents of Kisumu due to the pollution of Lake Victoria. Industrial waste and effluent discharge into the lake have severely compromised water quality, fish populations, and biodiversity. Natural resources are finite, and the overuse and pollution of Lake Victoria threaten future generations. As a Green political party, UGM celebrated Mother Nature by showcasing the efforts of restoration groups working to curb pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change around Kisumu County.
Several groups were featured at the event, including NAAM Festival, Sunculture Kenya, Green Earth Initiative, Amazing Grace Youth Group, Ecoglass, and Ibrahim Odhiambo. These organizations demonstrated their prowess in innovation for job creation and sustainable practices.
NAAM Festival champions justice for Nam Lolwe (Lake Victoria) by supporting young artisans, advocating for sustainable practices to restore the lake, and reducing pollution through recycling plastic and textile waste. Their motto, “Nataka Taka” (Swahili for “I want waste”), emphasizes the value of waste and its potential to reduce pollution. During clean-ups, they collect and repurpose plastic, glass, and fabric waste into products such as fabric patch carry bags (NAMFUKO), glass upcycled drinking bottles, flower vases, and mixed media art pieces.
Green Earth Initiative creates eco-friendly products like aesthetic flowers from plastic bottles as part of their sustainable waste management practices. Their work aims to improve climate conversations and empower communities to cultivate innovative solutions for a sustainable future. The advantages of their recycled plastic products include eco-friendliness, durability, ease of use, and long lifespan.
Ecoglass Kenya recycles glass alcoholic bottles to produce sustainable and affordable drinking glasses often used in the hospitality industry.
Amazing Grace Youth Enterprise is a youth-led organization employing circular mechanisms to produce organic food and products for local consumption and sale. They address waste management at the household level by segregating organic and inorganic waste. Organic waste is decomposed into manure for organic vegetable production and used to produce protein-rich black soldier fly feed for poultry, pigs, and fish. Inorganic waste is reused as planting bags and sold to vendors for further value addition, reducing plastic pollution and creating employment.
Helping Hands Farming Initiative supports local food production by promoting purely organic and environmentally friendly farming inputs. They sell organic seedlings and train farmers on affordable drip irrigation to ensure continuous food production despite erratic weather patterns.
Ibrahim Odhiambo, a young innovative Grade 7 student at Nyabielo Junior School in Migori, makes baskets out of plastic bottle tops, demonstrating that age is no barrier to environmental conservation!
Garry Tyrell Farm identified a community gap where poverty hindered children’s education. They now plant pawpaw seedlings to generate income, prompting more people to plant fruit seedlings and contribute to environmental sustainability.
Sunculture Kenya uses off-grid solar technology to provide smallholder farmers with reliable access to water, irrigation, lighting, and mobile charging. Their Pay-As-You-Grow option allows farmers to pay in small monthly installments, addressing some of the biggest daily challenges faced by smallholder farmers.
The event also featured performances by various young local artists; Stevo Janam, Apesi Mnyama Mkali and Omondi Wuod Ombeyi who had an opportunity to launch their debut albums on this day, as well as a football match featuring the local football champions, Obunga FC. By doing this, the UGM Party id supporting local talent, and encouraging the youth across the country to embrace their talents and skills as a means of job creation.
Political leaders from across the country graced the event including 
UGM Party NGC leadership, Dr. Miguna Miguna and Dr. Roselyn Akombe among others. Led by the Kisumu UGM Branch Hon. John Obure and leaders from across Nyanza including Hon. Easter Ogweno, Ms. Esther Ang’awa, Ms. Brenda Ongalo and Hon. Edwin Agolla, the UGM Party called upon the residents of Obunga to choose ideologically driven political leaders going forward, who will lead the region to prosperity.
Looking ahead, UGM is excited to announce that the next County Gig will be held in Lamu County. We call on green businesses and innovators in Lamu to prepare to showcase their sustainable practices and innovations. UGM Party hopes to inspire politics that is done differently across the nation, moving Kenya in the right trajectory towards a sustainable and prosperous future.