Kilaso Emmanuel always knew he would develop a deep interest in sustainable practices at a tender age. While growing up, he maintained a culture of love for habitable environments and nature whenever he worked together with his father, an agriculturalist.
During his undergraduate days at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), where he studied geology and earth sciences, his passion was rekindled after meeting young changemakers like him.
In November 2019, Emmanuel founded Securecycle Environmental and Climate Change Initiative (SECCI), a nonprofit organisation dedicated to providing innovative solutions to climate change issues through advocacy and action. Currently based in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the group helps children from low-income communities succeed in classrooms through the Jeans to Bag project.
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Three bags made from recycled jeansPhoto Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/FIJ Nigeria
“Imagine growing up in a boisterous city yet relegated to the back seat of society. I could recall a brilliant pupil from a dysfunctional family who faced financial difficulties due to her parents’ limited capacity; this made it hard for her to get educational materials such as school bags and books that are vital for her studies,” he told FIJ.
“For her, the Jeans to Bag project was a godsend when my team visited her school during an outreach. We gave her the bag and monetary support.”
RAISING THE BAR
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over 18 million children are out of school in Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy. The global think tank lamented that the country is faced with a dilemma of a growing out-of-school population and severe learning poverty, emphasising the need for urgent interventions from the national government and concerned stakeholders.
Through the Jeans to Bag project, Kilaso and his team recycle old jeans into high-quality school bags for students who cannot afford to buy them in Ogun State and beyond.
A student carries placard echoing message on recycling Photo Credit: Mohamed Taoheed/FIJ Nigeria
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FIJ understands that this initiative is a response to Nigeria’s severe waste management problem, which has harmful impacts on health if left unchecked. Picture this: Nigeria was among the 30 worst countries for indiscriminate waste disposal in the world in a 2023 report by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
With 2.1 billion tons of municipal waste generated globally each year, Kilaso said recycling should be the primary focus of everyone who cares about the environment.
“Recycling should be the order of the day, and we must do all we can to support underserved children,” he said.
“When we made our first production of the recycled jeans, we donated to a pupil and her classmates, who used to come to their respective schools with polythene or cement bags before our intervention.”
A pupil receives the jeans-to-bag pack from SecurecyclePhoto Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/FIJ Nigeria.
Since inception, the initiative has reached about 200 students in the country with better-quality bags. Kilaso said that apart from this initiative, he often engaged locals, especially youth, in empowering programmes on climate education to promote waste management.
He told FIJ that his organisation would soon launch Green Hive, an innovation hub where climate change advocates, researchers and students could think and implement actions to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Securecycle’s yet-to-be launched hub for climate changePhoto Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/FIJ Nigeria
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Kilaso’s efforts have been recognised through speaking and interactive engagements within Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and India, where he has had the floor to exhibit his art.
“Other things that I am into are tree planting for schools, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and cleanup activities for beaches and rural communities. About six states in the country have benefited from all of these as of now,” he told FIJ.
A HEAP OF BARRICADES
Pupils hold reading books donated to them by Securecycle in AbeokutaPhoto Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/FIJ Nigeria
Meanwhile, Kilaso said that he could only do less as he relied heavily on crowdfunding and bootstrapping to sustain the project. He also acknowledged the support of partners such as Teach for Nigeria, HH Muhammad Sanusi Initiative, Lagos Business School and the Ogun State Government.
“We encounter technical challenges, but we are learning and growing along the way,” he said. “Children and youths are our primary focus, as we empower them to be better custodians of nature and promoters of sustainable development practices.”
Cultural beliefs also pose a challenge, particularly in the donation of clothes.
“People are hesitant to donate their old or worn-out jeans due to cultural beliefs that we might use them for evil purposes. But the situation is gradually improving with our constant enlightenment programmes for them. Currently, we are looking at distributing bins to different communities to easily collect these jeans for the next round of our production,” he said.
“Beyond these challenges, we need to stand for two things: our environment and education. This is what I hope to do more.”
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