Are you ever too young to make an impact? When one looks at the journey of 15-year-old environmentalist and eco-friendly business owner, Rahmina Paulette, this common question would be easily answered..
Rahmina grew up in the culturally vibrant city of Kisumu. At just five years old, she was introduced to environmental activities. She not only started planting trees with her mother but took an interest in how the seedlings would develop. Rahmina watched intently as these seedlings become trees that transformed the environment and called upon rain. She kept at this service to the environment around her. It was rooted in her that she should plant trees every month.
This time taken may have seemed like small efforts to say thank you to mother nature. But the time alone was moulding Rahmina for a future in the climate activism space.
In Kisumu, one of the weekend activities was the odd boat ride on the majestic Lake Victoria or a picnic along its shores. On these visits, she couldn’t help but notice the number of plastics stacked up on different corners of the lake. It was heartbreaking to see a major waterbody, wonder, and tourist attraction slowly decline due to neglect.
Though it wasn’t until 2017 that Rahmina decided she was going to be the lake protector and make change! She and her mother had set out to go on a boat ride. However, the activity had to be unexpectedly cancelled. The lake had thick masses of water hyacinth floating around. Surely opportunities to experience the great lake couldn’t be cut short because of weeds—no, she would not let it. Determined to learn more about hyacinth, Rahmina took to the resources available. Her plan? To learn about the invasive weed and the best way possible to get rid of it. Rahmina didn’t find the solution to get rid of the hyacinth. What she did discover is that it could be a useful raw material for various essential items. And her enterprising spirit kicked in.
As she worked on a business plan, Rahmina also carved out time to launch a campaign. She titled it ‘Let Lake Victoria Breathe Again’. Her agenda was to work for the restoration of Lake Victoria’s ecosystems, and she made use of online petition forums as well as her own voice to rally as many people to support the cause. This was how she came to form Kisumu Environmental Champs.
Her business also soon took shape, and she named it Rahmina Paulette Eco-Products – talk about building a brand! Aside from conserving the environment, she has also provided employment opportunities for people in her community. This includes the fishermen who collect the hyacinth for her.
Currently a student at Kisumu Senior Academy, Rahmina has not shown any signs of slowing down. She has added being a wildlife champion to her list of contributions to the environmental space. With all these hats, some might wonder how she finds time to do it all. Rahmina is devoted to school work and extracurricular activities throughout the week. But she spends her weekends and holidays doing what she loves. Thanks to the help of her mother who is one of her mentors, her causes and businesses remain active while she’s in class.
Indeed, an environmental warrior, and we applaud Rahmina for proving to us that impact is not defined by age but by effort!
#OurGreenHeroes
