Youths at WeCan Academy Clear 30 Tonnes of Waste and Plant 1,000 Trees in Roysambu Mazingira Day Clean-Up
PHOTO: WeCan Academy Youths collecting waste along TRM Drive, Roysambu during Mazingira Day
By John Toris
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 11 – Early on Saturday morning, the 10th of October 2026, a different kind of crowd gathered along Thika Road. They were not there to demonstrate or make demands. They came carrying brooms, gloves, and young tree seedlings. It was Mazingira Day, and the youths at WeCan Academy had decided to spend it serving their community.
The clean-up walk began at the IYF Headquarters, situated off Thika Road behind Safari Park Hotel and next to USIU-Africa, the group marched towards the Chief’s Camp in Roysambu Ward, picking up litter and clearing waste along the way. When they arrived at the Chief’s Camp, they planted more than 1,000 tree seedlings as a lasting reminder of their commitment to a cleaner environment.
Madam Maryvine Yanchoka, the Principal Environmental Officer for Roysambu Sub-County, who represented Nairobi City County at the event, confirmed that the youths collected an estimated 30 tonnes of waste along the Thika Road corridor and the surrounding Roysambu area. It was a remarkable achievement for a single day’s work.
But for WeCan Academy, the exercise was never just about cleaning roads. The Principal of the Academy, Mr. Aeneas Wanyonyi, explained that the real goal was to change how young people think. He said many youths grow up with a habit of blaming others and waiting for someone else to solve their problems.
We Can Academy Principal Mr. Aeneas Wanyonyi addressing members of the press during the clean-up walk along Thika Road.
The Academy works to replace that mindset with a simple but powerful attitude: “I can do it.””We change our youths from blaming to ‘I can do it.’ It is not ‘someone should do it,’ but ‘I can do it. Let us do it,'” he said.
“The real dirt is not what is on the road. Real dirt is what is in their mind. As we clean the road, we also tell them to clean their minds, This idea of cleaning the mind alongside the environment is central to the Academy’s teaching.”
Mr. Wanyonyi noted that giving young people skills and education is important, but if their thinking does not change first, nothing else will. “Giving them skills, education, we can give them, but if the software is not changed, this person has not changed,” he explained.
WeCan Academy is a free vacation training centre run by the International Youth Fellowship (IYF), formerly known as the Free Weekend Academy. It trains young people in practical skills such as AI, media, design, broadcasting, leadership, and digital skills.
The founder of IYF, Reverend Dr. Ock Soo Park, is known for teaching a mindset of living for others, and on Mazingira Day, the students put that teaching into practice.The waste problem in Nairobi is serious.
The county generates an estimated 2,400 tonnes of waste every day, and less than half of it is ever collected. Roysambu alone, with over 230,000 residents, produces roughly 175 tonnes of waste daily.
These figures show why clean-up efforts like this one matter, but they also show why one day is not enough.As the event came to a close, the message was clear.
A clean environment begins with a clean heart. “A clean heart creates a clean environment,” said Mr. Wanyonyi. For the youths at WeCan Academy, Mazingira Day was not just a one-day event. It was a mindset class in action.
