What began as a spark of frustration turned into a youth-led movement for climate action in Rwanda. Emery Patrice Ishimo Cyabahire remembers the moment clearly — it wasn’t just a decision to start a club. It was the start of something bigger.
During the summer of 2024, Emery realized that too many young people around him weren’t speaking up about climate change. That silence didn’t sit right with him. “We needed more than awareness,” he said. “We needed action.” So instead of waiting for someone else to start, he did. Emery launched a campaign called Creating Climate Future Champions and brought together young people who cared — people who wanted to learn, act, and lead.
That campaign grew into what is now the Planet Vanguard Club, a student-led platform that trains youth ambassadors, runs school workshops, and leads hands-on sustainability efforts like tree planting and climate education. “It’s not just a club,” Emery says. “It’s a movement.”
Nation Voice Foundation’s early support helped turn his vision into action. “It was like opening a window in a dark room,” Emery shared. “You didn’t just support the project — you unlocked something in me.” With new confidence and clarity, he began to scale the impact, dreaming beyond Kigali, beyond Rwanda — across Africa.
To date, Planet Vanguard has trained over 20 young leaders, who now return to their communities during school breaks to share what they’ve learned. The ripple effect is real. “It’s not about how many trees ten of us can plant. It’s about how many people we can inspire to act,” Emery says. “That’s how we multiply our impact.”
And he’s just getting started.
Thank you, Nation Voice Foundation, for believing in us
Time is now, and power is ours!