To go to the Clinton Global Initiative University website and see what thousands of students are doing all over the world, click on this linkCGIU Website

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Commitments to Action (What are they?)

Commitments to Action, from Kenyan High schools and University students are building on a unique feature of CGI U membership, and translate practical goals into meaningful and measurable results. Commitments are new, specific, and measurable initiatives that address social or environmental challenges on campuses, and in communities in Kenya.  Varying in scope and duration, many commitments are the result of new and diverse partnerships between students, universities, nonprofits, and national youth organizations, with members combining efforts to expand the impact of new ideas.

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Commitment Basics (Adopted from CGIU.ORG)

Individual Commitments begin with a single person who chooses to take action on an issue affecting their community. This stem from a fundamental belief that anyone can make a difference and tackle some of the communities pressing challenges.

Student Group Commitments begin with a group of young people who decide and commit to take action. This commitment must be new, specific, and measurable. Student group commitments may involve teachers and faculty, administrators, community members, and NGO’s working in the communities. Collaborations are always encouraged.

To ensure quality and effectiveness, every commitment must be new, specific and measurable.

Clinton Global University Initiative Focus Areas

CGIU Focus areas are:


Education

Environment & Climate Change

Peace & Human Rights

Poverty Alleviation

Health

Examples of Commitments to Action in CGIU Focus Areas
1. Education
>> Build school libraries in schools that lack them
>> Start a tuition program for high school students
>> Start a text book exchange program 
>> Raise funds to support best performing students from the initiatives
>> Design a fuel efficient, eco-friendly jiko (to use locally available materials)
>> Modify the traditionally used fuel lamps for better lighting and less smoke
>> Design a water treatment system for domestic use
>> Design a water harvesting and storage system for home use
>> Develop a recycling component for certain waste material 
2. Environment & Climate Change
>> Soil erosion control
>> Plant trees around the school (task target per school – 500 trees)
>> Establish an orchid (task target at least 5 fruit species, at least 10 plants each)
>> Establish a botanical garden (task target at least 5 flower species at least 10 x 10 metres garden)
>> Install waste paper collection bins around the school 
>> Introduce idea of recycling or going green in Kenyan schools 
3. Peace & Human Rights
>> Debates
>> Essays 
*Encouragement of peer to peer peaceful conflict resolution and management*
4.  Poverty Alleviation
>> Establish a kitchen garden (indigenous or exotic varieties) that can be adapted for every small scale farmer and that can be having food all year round. Design and recommend when to plant.
>> Ways in which slum area dwelling people can raise food on top of their roofs-sustainable gardens
>> Use locally available food varieties to come up with new meal options (such as crisps from yellow potatoes)
>> Design cheap meal plans that families with different number of people can adopt. 
>> Organize a 10 km food walk in the area to create awareness.
>> Establish school vegetable gardens, gardens that follow principles of sustainable agriculture/ gardens that student can even use for outreach/ inviting farmers in their community to learn
5. Public Health 
>> Install water containers for washing hands near the toilets around the school
>> Design a model for a disease response and control unit suitable for the local area (including components such as information collection, reporting, database management and response/reaction units)
>> How they can use technology/Mobile phones/ to spread information in the villages