Kenya has around 54,430 ha of mangroves and the number has been declining due to overexploitation by the community.
Meet Bosco Juma, an alumnus of the Young African Leaders Initiative who has been working with the communities living along the mangroves to not only restore the forest but also show them alternative ways of using mangroves for livelihood.
Trained in Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration by the Kenya Marine Institute and Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Bosco has partnered with the Mombasa County Government, development organizations, and other stakeholders on projects involving mangrove restoration, nature tourism, waste management, and youth skills development.
Bosco is a conservationist and social entrepreneur who serves as the co-founder and Executive Director of both Mikoko Nature Trail and Big Ship Environmental Conservation and Community-Based Empowerment Organization in Mombasa, Kenya.
With over a decade of experience in community-based mangrove ecosystem conservation and development, he possesses deep expertise in working with Kenya’s culturally diverse coastal communities.
Under his leadership, these initiatives have resulted in the planting of over 300,000 mangroves and the integration of tourism into conservation efforts, creating job opportunities for local youth.
“Mangroves have several benefits. We have seen people fishing along the mangrove forest and the community also getting involved in beekeeping as a livelihood. So far, we have restored 100 hectares of mangrove forest along the coast and planted more than 120,000 trees in the past 12 months,” said the Big Ship CEO.
A YALI alumnus, Bosco Juma has been working with the youth and the communities living along the mangrove forest in the Kenyan coast to conserve the forest while at the same time creating employment opportunities.
YALI, a Presidential Initiative, is a signature effort of the U.S. government to invest in the next generation of African leaders.
“This is an initiative where we identify leaders that come from the communities, trying to make a change. We give them a little bit of help, and training and then have them go back to the communities to create job opportunities. Today we saw a terrific example of that with what Bosco is doing with his NGO Big Ship. He is providing the communities with opportunities while also conserving a great Kenyan resource,” said USAID Mission Director David Gosney while visiting Bosco Juma.
Bosco Juma was in the 2018 cohort of the program.
“Six years down the line I still use the knowledge I got from there. I still have the notes I took while at the YALI program, so whenever I need to clarify something I refer to them. The training has also helped in day-to-day business and changing the livelihoods of our community,” said Bosco.
USAID implements the program in partnership with Kenyatta University to train youth aged 18-35 in business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, and public management.
“One of the best things about the program is, when you get to graduate you become an alumnus with access to a network of more than 26,000 alumni in Africa,” remarked Gosney.
