Guzo Kenya: Improving and Empowering Lives

One of our ALRS doctoral students was highlighted by the Graduate College!

"Diana Wanjiru Githu, a Fulbright scholar and doctoral student in the Arid Lands Resource Sciences program, founded the Community Based Organization (CBO) Guzo Kenya in her hometown of Nairobi, Kenya, in 2013. Currently, Githu is a Rangeland Ecologist whose research interests focus on how the physical sciences and social sciences can intersect to resolve challenges; her doctoral work is on agrivoltaics (the co-development of solar power and agriculture in a single area) and its impact on the nexus of food, water, and energy. At the time she created the organization, though, Githu had barely begun her undergraduate work but was already looking at ways to address large-scale challenges facing her country. In founding Guzo Kenya, she was primarily focused on improving conditions for children and empowering them through a multifaceted approach.

As the founder of the organization, Githu spearheads resource mobilization activities to facilitate their initiatives. To date, she says, Guzo Kenya has successfully transformed the lives of thousands of children in informal settlements, pediatric wards, refugee camps, childrens’ homes, and rescue centers in Kenya. Over the years, their membership has grown to the hundreds. Despite her current geographic distance from the organization and its work, Githu is still able to be actively involved in nearly all aspects of Guzo Kenya."

Read more about her amazing work in Kenya along with James McKenzie, a doctoral student in the Department of Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies here.