IEF 2007

Biography
In early 2002, Jessica Lax, 21 years old, from Ottawa, was studying in a traveling field school in Kenya along with Jocelyn Land-Murphy. Their experiences left them overwhelmed with the inequity between life in North America and the lives of many Kenyans. They felt powerless as individuals to change such extensive problems - until they sought their own solutions by bringing it down to a personal level. They began to alter their own lifestyles to reflect the change they wanted to see in the world. They began to dream of the impacts that could result should this mindset of conscious choices spread amongst Canada's youth.

On Feb 16, 2002, in Kitale, Kenya, the Otesha Project was created. Otesha means ‘reason to dream’ in Ki-Swahili. The organization is based on the belief that there are alternatives to our society of over-consumption, and that each one of us has the opportunity to have a positive impact, every single day. Within just five years, The Otesha Project has reached over 65,000 people directly with their theatre presentations and workshops inspiring youth to re-evaluate their daily choices to reflect the kind of world they want to live in. Otesha has also co-ordinated 10 bike tours that have reached thousands of students across Canada, and trained over 300 sustainability ACT-ors to deliver presentations. The Otesha Book, From Junk to Funk’ was self-published in 2005, and was written collaboratively by over 30 hopeful hooligans from across Canada. Recently awarded the YouthActionNet award, the Tooker Gomberg award, the CAMBIO award, and the outstanding non-profit EECOM award – Otesha has been widely recognized for its innovative and creative activism.

Presentation

Part 1 of 2

Part 2 of 2