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As we approach the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22), a movement that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in the US and engages more than 1 billion people globally each year, we can take pride in the work that has been done and find hope that it is not too late to make positive changes. As many have sheltered in place and the global economy has slowed, we have seen a dramatic environmental shift in our water and our air. While the world will eventually resume its previous pace, this temporary relief shows what the difference could look like. Even while we celebrate our current healthcare workers and those who support our food supply and delivery, there is room to celebrate some of our own who are fighting on another front to save us and future generations from environmental harm. Despite everything, we can find inspiration on this Earth Day.

Khatibu is an alumnus of Asante Africa’s Leadership & Entrepreneurship Incubator (LEI) Program based in Tanzania and credits Asante Africa with helping him develop the skills and acquire the tools he needed to follow his passion to build his community and be a positive agent for change. Inspired by well-known Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, Khatibu put those skills to work. He began by organizing district clean up events and became a coordinator for Earth Day Tanzania in his university, which is a movement and network of over 20 coordinators and 60 passionate volunteers who work to raise awareness and champion efforts such as clean up events, tree planting, concerts, and environmental education for primary and secondary school.

Khatibu inspires us because of his cause and because he has chosen to “pay it forward” through community reinvestment. Our communities need us too, which is the lesson that Khatibu can teach us this Earth Day. Invest in your community, invest in leaders who “pay it forward”, take care of each other, and stay safe.