VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Real Stories from UPG’s Grassroots Training
By Achon Sabo Danjuma
What would occur if you provide young people with the information and the voice to create an impact? United People Global (UPG) was curious to find out.
For Brazil’s Amanda da Cruz Costa, the solution was straightforward: you begin right where you are. Back in her hometown in São Paulo following UPG’s Sustainability Leadership Program, Amanda knew what she wanted to do – make sustainability mainstream.
Her first mini-workshop took place in a community center in front of 12 people. “We spoke about food waste, recycling, and the potential of youth action,” she explains. Now, she operates PerifaSustentável, a community platform that reaches hundreds of individuals weekly with guidance on sustainability specific to life on the city’s periphery.
In Zimbabwe, 27-year-old Tinashe led a mini-training for local educators. “Our schools don’t have a lot of resources, but they have influence,” he states. At the session’s conclusion, five of the educators committed to incorporating environmental awareness into their lesson plans.
Every narrative arising from such grassroots discussions is one of hope, determination, and change. They are not called by celebrities or politicians, but by common people who have been trained to appreciate and express the significance of the SDGs.
And the volunteers? Most return with a transformed mind, like a young Ghanaian woman called Akosua. “Previously, I believed sustainability was meant for the government or the big NGOs,” she says. “Now, I realize it begins with me.” These thousands of testimonies comprise the foundation of UPG’s influence. It is not a program – it is a people movement of testifying and doing, community by community.
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