For Wongani Mulanga, education and environmental sustainability are inseparable. As Co-Founder of Green Minds Malawi, a youth-led organisation, Wongani is working to instill environmental awareness, promote clean energy, and nurture sustainable practices among young people and schools across Malawi. His vision is clear: learning should empower students without costing the environment, and sustainability should begin in the classroom.
Wongani’s journey began when she observed a stark gap between what students were learning and the environmental realities surrounding them. Many young learners in under-resourced communities struggled to study due to unreliable electricity, while receiving little guidance on environmental responsibility. This dual challenge sparked the creation of Green Minds Malawi and the Green Ed Initiative, aiming to address both issues hand-in-hand.
Through these initiatives, Wongani and his team have reached students with interactive environmental education sessions, promoted proper waste management in schools, and distributed solar lamps to learners. These lamps allow students to study safely after dark while encouraging the adoption of clean energy solutions. Beyond these tangible impacts, she has seen young people embrace responsibility for their environment, taking initiative to keep classrooms and communities clean without prompting, proof that sustainable education begins with awareness and action.
One common misconception Wongani encounters is that environmental education is theoretical or optional. In reality, it directly shapes behaviour, enhances learning outcomes, and builds long-term resilience within communities. Yet, the journey has not been without challenges. Limited resources and funding have meant relying heavily on personal sacrifice, contributing time and money to sustain programs. Wongani navigates these constraints by prioritizing critical activities, forging partnerships, and maintaining a steadfast commitment to purpose, even when resources are stretched thin.
What keeps her going are the visible shifts in students’ behaviour, the small yet profound changes that indicate awareness translating into action. In the next three to five years, Wongani envisions a self-sustaining Green Ed Initiative, broader solar lamp distribution, and Green Minds Malawi reaching schools across multiple districts, empowering thousands of students to become proactive environmental stewards.
The lessons Wongani imparts for creating impact are rooted in intention and consistency. You do not need all resources or a complete plan to begin meaningful work. Starting from the heart, maintaining commitment, and engaging communities lays the foundation for sustainable change. His thinking has been shaped by environmental leaders, climate educators, and his own lived experiences in Malawi, where access to reliable energy has long been a barrier to learning. Success, for Wongani, is measured not in money or visibility but in observable changes: students taking ownership of their environment and engaging with sustainability practices.
For aspiring changemakers, his advice is simple: start with the problem you see every day, involve the community, and leverage collaboration. If given a minute with policymakers or investors, Wongani would call for long-term support for youth-led environmental education and school-based clean energy initiatives that are practical, scalable, and locally owned. What excites her most is seeing environmental education move from theory into action, particularly when a student carries a solar lamp home, symbolizing opportunity, confidence, and a brighter, sustainable future.
Despite recognition as a Top 12 Finalist of the Opportunity Desk Impact Challenge 2025, much of Wongani’s work remains quietly transformative: mentoring one-on-one, testing ideas that often fail before succeeding, and finding creative ways to deliver programs with minimal resources. For her, the real story lies in these small, unseen steps that accumulate into tangible change. She hopes his work will be remembered as empowering young people to learn, care for the environment, and build a sustainable future.
This article is part of a special spotlight series produced through a partnership between Savvy Fellowship and Opportunity Desk, highlighting the Top 12 finalists of the Opportunity Desk Impact Challenge (ODIC) 2025 and amplifying community-driven solutions across Africa.