Seventeen-year-old Amara Nwuneli is on a mission, and she’s not waiting for permission to change the world.

This April, she won the 2025 Earth Prize and a $12,500 award for turning a trash dump in Ikota, Nigeria into a vibrant park and playground made with reclaimed tires, scrap wood, and local creativity. But for Amara, this is just the beginning.

At Soko Bags, we believe in the power of young changemakers, especially when they turn problems into beauty, trash into joy, and forgotten spaces into futures. That’s exactly what Amara has done, and we couldn’t be more inspired.

A Park Built from Hope (and Tires)

The first park was built from what most people overlook: waste. Working with local artisans, Amara’s team transformed a flood-prone dumping ground into a play haven for schoolchildren. Slides made from repurposed tires, swings from recycled metal, and a climbing wall rose from what used to be heaps of trash. Around the park, 300 trees were planted to reduce flooding and bring shade to the slum community.

When the park opened in March, children ran in shouting: “Now something we can actually call beautiful.” That moment, Amara said, broke her heart, in the best way.

Preserve Our Roots: Youth Leading the Way

This isn’t Amara’s first step into climate activism. After floods displaced her family in 2020 and devastated her parents’ spice business, she picked up a camera and started sharing her story online. Her videos raised enough money to help rebuild two schools. Then she founded her NGO, Preserve Our Roots, which continues to educate and empower youth across Nigeria.

They even produced a documentary in 2023 about the climate crisis in Africa, a call to action that moved hearts and opened eyes.

A Bigger Vision: Green Hubs for Nigerian Communities

Amara is already planning three more parks, this time with gardens, greenhouses, and community waste collection centers. She’s looking to build in Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states, all vulnerable to worsening floods and droughts.

One site is a landfill she hopes to transform into a green space, pending government approval. Ultimately, she dreams of creating “a Central Park for Lagos”, a space where nature, healing, and community come together.

“I’m not satisfied,” she said. “I feel like every community needs this.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Why It Matters

In a city like Lagos, where green space makes up less than 3% of the land, projects like these aren’t just nice, they’re necessary. Green spaces cool our cities, absorb floodwaters, reduce pollution, and give children safe places to play. They bring joy. They bring relief. They bring hope.

At Soko Bags, we believe that sustainability starts at the grassroots. With every bag we craft and every initiative we support, we’re building a future that centers people and the planet, and young leaders like Amara are showing us the way.

Let’s celebrate and support the next generation of builders, dreamers, and doers. Because every community does need this, and together, we can create it.