Juliet C. Osueke (she/her)

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities? Tell us about your EE work and impact. 

I use environmental education to help communities understand environmental challenges, develop practical solutions, and create opportunities for a more sustainable and equitable future. Through Jully Foundation, I work with schoolchildren, women, youth, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and people in flood-affected communities and IDP camps across Nigeria and Uganda.

I lead the design and delivery of practical, community-based learning that connects climate change, environmental justice, waste management, and livelihoods. Rather than limiting education to awareness, I help participants turn knowledge into action by teaching them to transform discarded textiles, plastics, and other waste into useful products, including reusable bags, berets, sanitary pads, and other crafts. This approach addresses multiple challenges at once: pollution, unemployment, period poverty, and gender-based violence (GBV).

I also work with educators to strengthen climate education in schools. Through our Train the Educator initiative, I have helped train 320 teachers to integrate climate action and environmental responsibility into classroom learning, extending our reach to more than 52,000 students.

To date, I have led environmental education and green-skills training for more than 15,780 people, with participants using these skills to pursue green enterprises and community solutions. My goal is to continue building communities where environmental knowledge becomes a pathway to resilience, dignity, livelihoods, and collective action.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today. What inspired you? What has your path been like? 

My journey began with loss, displacement caused by flooding and a deep connection to the environmental challenges facing my community in Bayelsa, Nigeria. Growing up in the Niger-Delta, I witnessed how flooding and environmental degradation disrupted livelihoods and disproportionately affected vulnerable families. The 2022 floods were a defining moment for me. I lost relatives, my home, and belongings, but I also gained a deeper understanding of how environmental crises are connected to poverty, inequality, and lack of opportunity.

Instead of seeing my experience as tragedy, I chose to turn it into purpose. I founded Jully Foundation and began working with communities affected by flooding, particularly women, youth, PWDs, and schoolchildren. What started as a response to a local challenge grew into a broader continental journey of environmental education, green skills, climate resilience, and social inclusion.

My path has not been easy. I have had to build with limited resources, navigate funding challenges, and learn through experience while balancing education, family responsibilities, and community work. Yet every challenge has strengthened my determination.

Today, I see environmental education as both my profession and my purpose: equipping people with knowledge, skills, and confidence to create solutions for their communities and shape a more sustainable and equitable future.

How can people learn more about or support your work? 

People can learn more about my work through Jully Foundation, where we share our environmental education, climate resilience, green-skills, mental-health, and community empowerment activities. I welcome individuals, educators, organisations, funders, and government partners who want to learn, collaborate, volunteer, or support our work.

A major next step is our recently approved partnership with the Bayelsa State Ministry of Education to train secondary school students across 72 public schools on climate education, green empowerment, and resilience. The initiative will reach more than 360,000 young people and students in flood-affected communities, equipping them with practical knowledge and skills to understand climate challenges, manage waste, build resilience, and become environmental leaders in their communities.

We are currently seeking organisations, philanthropists, businesses, and individuals to support the implementation and expansion of this initiative through funding, educational materials, training resources, technical expertise, mentorship, and partnerships.

Supporting this work means investing not only in environmental education, but also in the next generation of climate-conscious young people who will influence their families, schools, and communities.

Those interested can connect with Jully Foundation, follow our work, partner with us, or reach out to explore ways to contribute. Together, we can turn environmental education into practical action and lasting community resilience.

A Little More About Me

Who (or what) do you look up to as inspiration?
I look forward to serving in the National Assembly, where I will directly influence policies that advance environmental education, social impact, and better living conditions for individuals and communities affected by floods, conflict, and poverty. I am inspired by the vision of contributing, through my journey and social impact work, to a stronger Nigeria and Africa where every citizen has the opportunity to live with dignity, resilience, and hope.

Where do you feel most at peace and why?
I feel most at peace when I am working directly with communities facing floods, conflict, disasters, and poverty, especially when I am providing relief, climate education, and green-skills opportunities that help people rebuild their lives and livelihoods. Having experienced some of these challenges myself, I find purpose and peace in turning difficult experiences into solutions that restore dignity, create hope, and contribute to environmental peace and community resilience, and this has earned me a Rotary Peace Fellowship.

What’s a passion project of yours outside of your work?
Building a mental health app supporting people affected by environmental crises.