IPED Event 2022-2023: Intergral Ecology for Sustainable Development: Case Studies from Kenya and Malawi

This panel will provide valuable insight into the ideals of sustainable development and integral ecology based on their experiences in Kenya and Malawi. Pope Francis, in his encyclical letter Laudato Si’, focused on these concepts and stressed the need to safeguard our environment to ensure that while we meet the needs of the present generation, we also do not compromise the needs of the future generation. The discussion panel will include Endashaw Debrework, S.J., Wendy Omanga, and Tione Matthews Phwandaphwanda.

About the Speakers
Endashaw Debrework, S.J., is a Jesuit priest of the eastern Africa province. He is the executive deputy director at Jesuit Hakimani Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. Hakimani is a Jesuit center for social transformation comprising Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Kenya, and Sudan. At the social center, Debrework oversees policy dialogue initiatives, advocacy influencing, and humanitarian efforts and supports the general implementation of projects.

Wendy Omanga is a youth activist and impact entrepreneur from Nairobi, Kenya. She is the
founder and CEO of Moonlight Initiative, a commercial forestry nonprofit that seeks to
restore riparian ecosystems while also providing an alternative income source to small-scale
farmers. Inspired by the social and environmental teachings of Pope Francis, Omanga is a
founding member of the Economy of Francesco’s Africa Hub.

Tione Phwandaphwanda is an environmental specialist and community development
worker who has been passionately working with the most vulnerable communities for more than
nine years, transforming their lives in the face of the impacts of climate change. He is a
senior project officer at the Jesuit Center for Ecology and Development (JCED) in Lilongwe,
Malawi, where he works in the center’s resilience-building program.