November 3, 2020/0 Comments/in Featured Story, Impact Stories /
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Wendy Omanga is a graduate from the university of Nairobi with a B.A in Political science and communication. Additionally, she is the founder of Moonlight Initiative which is a youth lead sustainability and circular economy consultancy which has specialized in Bamboo consultancy. The initiative also sells bamboo products through her ecommerce site called Bambooka. In August this year, she was awarded the Top 35 Under 35 Youth of the Year award for her environment, conservation, and advocacy on bamboo consultancy.
She was an alumna of the first Husika program, Axelerataz movement, where she had a capacity building training on Digital Advocacy and learnt on the power of social media and opportunities that exist in it. “The knowledge and skills I gained from ELF have positively impacted my advocacy of Bamboo at national level and grassroot level.”
“One of my major interest in life is being at the forefront of the Bamboo policy, especially now that it’s considered a cash crop. The digital advocacy training is helping me in creating platforms to discuss the bamboo policy and the way forward as a country.”
Wendy holding her Top 35 under 35 award
Her most difficult part of her journey has been being a youth in a space where most youth are rarely found. Being in the environmental conservation space has been hard for and pushed her to tougher and consistent as she engages her peers on the same.
“Moonlight Initiative has begun planting Bamboo along river Nyando. With the digital advocacy training I got, it helps me run good campaigns on social media. This has earned me an award with Top 35 Under 35 Youth of the Year: Environment, Conservation, Advocacy,” Wendy.
Wendy has picked several lessons along the way but has three key lessons:
- Discipline: As a young leader, having personal principles is key to longevity in any industry. It takes extra ordinally discipline to stand out in a crowded industry. It helps in dealing with compromising situations.
- Consistency: Time is a huge factor to success. This separates passionate people from people with a ‘get rich quick scheme’ mindset. Giving up is not an option when you have identified your calling in life.
- Mentorship: it saves time and helps one avoid mistakes they would otherwise not known without a mentor.
Moving forward, Wendy plans to establish a bamboo cottage industry at grassroot level in Kenya. “I also encourage my peers to follow the right role models and mentors. Its key to success.”
