Edwin Wagah comes from Migori County, Kenya. He was partially orphaned at an early age and grew up in a rural fishing community by the lakeside where livelihoods and identity are closely tied to the environment and the church. According to him, that upbringing sparked his interest in community service, resilience, and inclusive development.
He is currently a scholarship holder of the Scholarship Programme for Christian Young People (SCYP) in Hungary. Edwin is a PhD candidate in Environmental Science at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest — but this is not his first time in Hungary, as he earned his MSc degree in Environmental Science at ELTE in 2023.
He learned about the SCYP scholarship through a friend who was a beneficiary of the programme at the time.
Now, he is not only a promising PhD candidate but also works hard for his home community in Kenya. He founded the Ubin-Adam Afrika Foundation (UAAF), a community-rooted NGO that addresses persistent gaps in services and inclusion for children with disabilities in Migori County and neighbouring communities. Their pilot initiative, the SUNCEP, provides teacher training, assistive devices, corrective surgeries, medical screening, stigma reduction, and school inclusion activities.
Edwin's humble work has already changed many lives, and he never fails to mention that this is his way of giving back for all the good things he has received from his community.
“It was also a way to give back to my community, who had sacrificed their meagre earnings from fishing to help fundraise for my high school and university education.”
Please welcome our interview with him.
Could you share with us your mission in life?
Edwin: My mission is to empower marginalized communities—especially children with disabilities and those whose livelihoods are vulnerable to climate change—by integrating inclusive education, traditional knowledge, and community-driven solutions for sustainable development.
Leaving home is never easy. What was it like for you to study abroad? Do you enjoy living in Hungary?
Edwin: Leaving Kenya was challenging; it meant not only balancing homesickness and new academic demands but also being away from my very young family. Yet it also opened doors to new methods, networks, and perspectives that have strengthened my work back home.
I value living in Hungary for its academic rigor and collegial research environment. Among my most memorable moments was earning my MSc in 2021—an experience that directly inspired the founding of Ubin-Adam Afrika and the development of our SUNCEP initiatives. My studies have sharpened my skills in research design, qualitative methods, and knowledge co-production—particularly in documenting Traditional Ecological Knowledge and translating it into policy-relevant outputs. Practical expertise in project design, monitoring and evaluation, and academic writing has also proved directly useful in managing Ubin-Adam Afrika’s programmes and partnerships.
Ubin-Adam Afrika is your foundation in Kenya. Could you please tell us a bit more about it and the work you do there?
Edwin: I founded Ubin-Adam Afrika (UAAF) to address persistent gaps in services and inclusion for children with disabilities in Migori County and neighbouring communities.
The inspiration came partly from my first-hand experience of the challenges faced by my cousin, who was both deaf and mute, and partly from a needs-based assessment among families in Migori that revealed a lack of rehabilitation services, assistive devices, and inclusive education for children with disabilities. I wanted to create an organized platform to coordinate sustainable, community-driven interventions.
As the founder and project lead of UAAF, I oversee project design, partner coordination, and implementation. UAAF is a community-rooted NGO with a small core team and a wider network of local volunteers, professionals, and international partners. Our volunteers support outreach, caregiver engagement, school-based inclusion activities, logistics for community workshops and medical camps, as well as monitoring and documentation. Our international partners contribute through technical training, capacity building, and by facilitating connections with donors and universities.
SUNCEP (Special Underserved Needy Children Empowerment Program) is our pilot initiative focused on supporting children with disabilities. The idea for the organization predates SUNCEP, but the program has become the key vehicle for scaling targeted support for children with special needs — including education, assistive devices, and medical interventions.
SUNCEP’s impacts include school support for seven children — covering tuition fees, stationery, and school uniforms — as well as teacher learning tours to Hungary, disability screenings for over 2,000 children, corrective surgeries, provision of mobility aids and medical glasses, installation of water purification systems in five schools, professor training at Rongo University, and increased school acceptance for children with disabilities.
Let us not forget that you are currently pursuing your PhD while also managing your work in Kenya. Could you tell us what your research is about and how it connects to your work back home?
Edwin: My research documents how local fishers and agropastoralists perceive environmental changes — including fisheries, water quality, fish communities, rangelands, and drylands — and how their Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) informs practical adaptation and sustainable resource stewardship.
In simple terms, I gather local knowledge, compare it with scientific observations, and use both to design more effective, locally owned solutions for conservation and livelihoods.
SUNCEP and my PhD intersect in community engagement, participatory methods, and knowledge co-production. Managing fieldwork, stakeholder engagement, and documentation for SUNCEP provides transferable methodological experience and generates rich qualitative data on community processes and governance, which in turn inform my doctoral analysis.
How do you manage having obligations on two continents?
Edwin: I manage through rigorous planning, alternating concentrated periods in Hungary with focused field visits in Kenya, and delegating operational tasks to trusted local coordinators. It is demanding but manageable.
What sustains me are the direct testimonies from beneficiaries — improved school inclusion, restored dignity for children, and strengthened local capacities — and the conviction that research should lead to tangible outcomes for communities.
How do you envision your future at this point in your journey?
Edwin: Professionally, I aim to consolidate my research on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and community-based governance to inform policy and scale inclusive programs for children with disabilities and climate-vulnerable livelihoods across East Africa. Personally, I seek to strengthen Ubin-Adam Afrika’s institutional capacity, mentor emerging local leaders, and foster sustainable partnerships between Kenyan communities and Hungarian institutions.
In closing, Edwin shared a message for his fellow scholarship holders, hoping to inspire them to take action and support others:
“Treat the scholarship as both a privilege and a responsibility,” he said. “Combine rigorous academics with practical community engagement, seek interdisciplinary collaborations, and embrace discomfort as part of growth. Small but consistent risks — such as presenting at conferences, initiating a pilot project, or learning a new method — accumulate into significant impact.”
We would like to thank Edwin for sharing his story with us. We wish him all the best and are confident that his work will continue to improve lives and inspire hope in many communities.
