The Digital Storytellers of Earthlife Africa, along with Natasha Adonis of Bushfire Media, Staff from the Earthlife JHB office and members from Clean Environment in Tembisa.
To Hold Space for Each Other and Our Communities: “Everyone has the right to be heard and seen.”
This July, Earthlife Africa Johannesburg kicked off the second half of the year with a dynamic Digital Storytelling for Grassroots Activists workshop. The goal: to explore how – simply by using their smartphones – local activists can amplify their community’s voices in the fight for environmental and climate justice.
These four dynamic young leaders – already doing the hard work on the ground – not only explored skills in photography, video editing, social media strategy, and storytelling, they also learned that you don’t need fancy gear to tell a story that moves people… you can make your own equipment and accessories using recycled materials.
Over the next year, the participants – grounded in their work and experiencing the same lived realities as their communities – will be challenged to produce engaging content that educates, informs, and inspires action. From live-posting during events to peer-reviewed content editing sessions, this experience will bridge the gap between community activism and digital media.
Meet the Digital Storytellers for 2025
Oyisa Suluba, from Zwide in the Eastern Cape, works with Makhukhanye Kuthi NPO, supporting clean energy and waste recycling in under-resourced areas. She says that digital storytelling is not just about creating awareness about the different issues facing her community. She says, “It’s about helping people understand the link between justice, energy, and our everyday lives.”
Dimpho H Ramokgonami, from Lephalale in Limpopo, is part of Matlhodi Organisation. Her work focuses on sustainability and solar energy in communities long dominated by coal. “Climate change isn’t theory for us – we are already living it. Furthermore, I want to use these skills to ensure that all of South Africa knows how we suffer, as a result of the deadly air we are forced to breathe. Thick ash – coming from Matimba coal-fired power station and Medupi – often pollutes our air (and our lives), but no-one seems to care.”
Livhuwani Gundule, from Venda, represents the youth of Mulambwane – a community resisting the controversial Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) – which threatens the once pristine Vhembe Biosphere. As a young farmer, who helps build food gardens and is committed to protecting her people’s sacred land, a healthy and clean environment and access to water, is critical. “These digital storytelling tools are just another way we can resist and ,” says Livhuwani. “We’re using them to grow something of our own.”
Eugene Ofisi Meck believes that education is a tool for promoting environmental justice. Driven by the need she witnessed in her community, in 2021, Eugene started her own NGO, the Eugene Meck Foundation where she works with youth in Evaton West in the Vaal – to help build confidence and skills that offer alternatives to poverty. “Digital storytelling makes our work visible,” she says. “And visibility is a form of power.”
Why Digital Storytelling Matters
South Africa’s climate crisis isn’t some distant threat – it’s already here. However, the reality is that most of the people dealing with its impacts don’t have a say in the national conversation. That’s why workshops like this are so important. They don’t just teach tools – they shift power. They make space for people at the frontlines of environmental injustice to shape the story, not just be the subject of it.
With this in mind, the workshop also included a visit to a couple of local environmental justice CBOs to meet the changemakers already working hard to support their communities and to protect and minimise their footprint on the environment. These were great for gathering raw content, to be developed into valuable stories.
This included a visit to Pauline Mocumi in Vosloorus – an activist who works very closely with her community and a recipient of a domestic solar energy system (as part of Earthlife Africa JHB’s renewable energy project). Here they saw and heard first-hand accounts of the impact of having solar power in the home.
Then they headed to Tembisa kasi, to Clean Environment – a local NGO that is turning trash into cash, through their recycling efforts, while also committed to keeping their community clean, for all to enjoy.
Climate justice isn’t just an environmental issue. It’s a human one. And digital storytelling is helping young South Africans tell the truth of their lives – with courage, creativity, and care. Maybe this encourages other to tell their stories too.
Follow the Digital Storytellers on the socials, to see what content they’ve created already:
Facebook:
- Eugene Ofisi Meck – https://www.facebook.com/share/1GCEoggyKa/
- Oyisa Suluba – https://www.facebook.com/share/1AtZXWbuN7/
- Dimpho H Ramokgonami – https://www.facebook.com/share/1671TdNBEN/
- Livhuwani Gundule – https://www.facebook.com/share/19ut957UEm/
The Digital Storytellers initiative is facilitated by Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, with the support of Bushfire PR.
Stay informed, follow Earthlife Africa Johannesburg on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.